The title of the message this
morning is The Precious Blood of Christ. The Precious Blood of Christ.
From verse 18 of 1 Peter 1. For as much as you know that
you're not redeemed with corruptible things, the silver and gold from
your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers,
but with the precious The blood of Christ is of a lamb without
blemish and without spot. Now, blood has always been a
precious thing to God. He warned men from the very beginning
not to shed the blood of another man or you incur God's wrath. In Romans, when Paul was showing
how sinful men are, one of the things he said is their feet
are swift. to shed blood, to break the commandment of God.
God counts blood as precious and even sinful men count blood
as a precious thing because we understand that life is in the
blood. This week, I was channel surfing
around, you know, like men do, came upon this movie where this
man won a very large financial settlement in a court case. They
took the money, put it in the bank, and never spend it. And
someone asked him, why aren't you spending the money? He said,
it's blood money. It caused people so much pain
and agony. It's blood money. I can't spend
it. That's exactly what the Pharisees,
even the Pharisees counted blood as a precious thing. When Judas
came back, he threw those silver coins, 30 pieces of silver, back
at their feet. He threw it back at them because
he said, I betrayed innocent blood. And they said, well, he
went out and hung himself. And they said, we can't take
this money and put it back in the treasury. It's the price of blood. It's
blood money. Even the Pharisees wouldn't spend
it. Even the blood of the Old Testament animal sacrifices was
treated as sacred. And the blood of God's children
is precious to Him. Look over at Psalm 72. The blood
of God's children is precious to Him. Psalm 72, verse 12. For he shall deliver
the needy when he crieth, the poor also, and him that hath
no helper. He shall spare the poor and needy,
and shall save the souls of the needy. He shall redeem their
soul from deceit and violence, and precious shall their blood
be in his sight. The blood of his children, the
blood of all those martyrs, was precious to God, the blood of
men now, precious to Him. Well, how much more precious,
how precious must the blood of the Son be to the Father? This is the blood of God. The
only pure, sinless blood that ever flowed through human veins
is the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. He says here, Peter says
He's the Lamb, the sacrifice without blemish. and without
spot. He's pure from original sin and
Adam, and he's pure from any sin of his own. Sinless blood. Precious. Now, you know, there's
lots of definitions of precious. The way to calculate, you know,
if something's precious. If it's got a lot of its own
intrinsic value, like gold or silver, it's precious. If something
is rare, just one of a kind, that makes it precious. If something
has a lot of sentimental value to you, you know, it might be
trash to somebody else, but to you, it's very precious because
it has sentimental value. But probably the best way to
determine if something is truly precious is, is it valuable to
you in a time of danger? In a time of great danger, can
you throw everything else away but this one thing? If you can,
then that one thing, can't throw it away, that one thing is precious. Can your life be reduced to the
point that that one thing, your life depends on it? Then that
one thing is precious. Every one of us would be overjoyed
to leave here this morning, go out and find sitting beside your
car a bag of gold. I mean, we'd be just Acting like
an idiot, we'd be so happy, wouldn't we? Because that gold is precious. We'd be jumping around, we're
rich, we're rich. Well, suppose the circumstance changed and
you find yourself in the middle of the desert. You've been there
for over a day. As far as the eye can see in
every direction, all you see is sand. And on the horizon,
you see one package or you see something, you go to it. Would
you be all that happy if you found that bag of gold then?
It wouldn't be very precious. You wouldn't even bother carrying
it with you because your life has begun to depend on it. You'd
be disappointed in that situation to find that bag of gold and
you'd give all of it up for water. The water is precious to you. It just depends on the circumstance
that you're in. And all of us are in different
circumstances. But there's going to come a day when all of us
are in the exact same circumstance. On your deathbed, every one of
us is going to be reduced to the exact same circumstance,
the exact same spot. When we face eternity, all this
stuff, this relationships with people and money and houses and
cars, all this stuff that's so important to us is going to just
be worthless, just so unimportant. And the only thing at that moment
that will matter is what God counts as precious. The blood
of His Son. Are you washed in the blood of
the Lamb? That's the only thing that will
matter. And we'd be wise to today, well before how many ever days
it's going to be until that day, we'd be wise to right now count
that blood the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ as precious. And
I want to give you a few reasons that the blood of Christ is precious. First, the blood of Christ is
precious in its redeeming power. The only way sin can be paid
for is by the blood of Christ. The word redeemed actually means
to be bought And in Adam, we've sold ourselves under sin. And
the only way a sinner can be redeemed, can be bought back,
set free from the condemnation of sin and the bondage to sin,
is if the ransom price is paid by the blood of the Lord Jesus
Christ. It's the only price that can
be paid. The only price that will redeem
us and buy our freedom is the blood of Christ. Our text here
says we're not redeemed with vain, foolish ways that man's
religion makes up in order to save a person. We're not redeemed
by your tithing. We're not redeemed by your good
works or how many Hail Marys you can say or giving up something
that you really like for 30 days. You're not saved by telling your
sins to some nut in a dark closet. You're not saved by going out
and feeding the poor or kneeling on your knees for many hours
until they're sore and bleeding and praying You're not redeemed
by reading your Bible through in a year. Good thing to read
your Bible, but now the Lord told the Pharisees, you search
the scriptures, and then you think you have eternal life.
But they are they which testify of me. You're not doing any good
reading your Bible until you see the Lord Jesus Christ and
his precious blood. It's a fine thing to go to foreign
lands and preach the gospel to the heathen, but no, that's not
what saves a man. The only way to find salvation,
redemption, is in the precious blood of Christ. Look over to
Ephesians chapter 1. Ephesians 1. The blood of Christ
is precious in its redeeming power. Ephesians 1 verse 7. In whom? In Christ. We have redemption. How? Through His blood. the forgiveness of sins according
to the riches of his grace. Look over Colossians chapter
1. In verse 14, in whom we have
redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.
Are you a sinner? Is there a sinner here this morning? I can tell you how you can have
forgiveness of sin. How you can have redemption from
your sin. It's in the precious blood of
Christ. His blood is precious in its redeeming power. Second,
His blood is precious in its power to atone. To make us one
with God. At-one-ment. To make us one with
God. All mankind was separated from
God in Adam. When Adam fell, he lost communion
with God and we lost communion with God in him. When Adam fell,
he made all men sinners and guilty before God and separated from
the Father. And you don't have to read very
much scripture to know this. God is holy. God must punish
sins. He will by no means clear the
guilty. That's what scripture says. Well,
then how can a sinner be brought back to God. One way. The precious blood of Christ.
In order for us to be brought back to God, our sin must be
paid for. And the only way it can be paid
for is the blood of Christ. Look back at Leviticus. Leviticus
17. Leviticus has a lot to say about
the blood. In Leviticus 17 verse 11, For the life of the flesh is
in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make
an atonement for your souls. Here's how you can make an atonement
for your souls. It's through the blood on the
altar. For it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the souls. Now you know good and well he's
not talking about animal blood, the blood of a goat or a bullock
or a ram. He's talking about the blood
of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's not possible that the blood
of bulls and goats should take away sin. He's talking about
the blood of the Lamb of God. His blood atones, puts away our
sins and brings us back to the Father. Gives us atonement with
the Father. Atonement. Look over to Ephesians
chapter 2. In Ephesians 2, verse 13, we
read this in our Bible class this morning. He said, remember
you're Gentiles at that time. You're far away from God, strangers
from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God
in the world. But now, in Christ Jesus, you,
sometimes we're far off, are made nigh, brought close, brought
back to union by the blood of Christ. The blood of Christ is
precious in its atoning power. Third, the blood of Christ is
precious in its cleansing power. Before a sinner can ever be saved,
we've got to understand one thing about ourselves. I'm a sinner. Filthy, defiled, polluted by
my sin. And not just on the outside.
I mean through and through. A heart, a soul, a nature that's
defiled with sin. And if I'm not washed, I'm not
cleansed, I can never be allowed in the presence of a holy God.
He's not going to allow someone with a stench like mine in his
holy presence. But scripture tells us it is
possible for a sinner to be washed clean. Isaiah said, though your
sins be as scarlet, they'll be white as snow. Though they be
red like crimson, they shall be as wool. How's that going
to happen? The only way a sinner can be
cleansed from the The defilement of our sin is in the precious
blood of Christ. Look at 1 John 1. His blood is
precious in its cleansing power. 1 John 1 verse 7. But if we walk
in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one
with another. And the blood of Jesus Christ,
His Son, cleanseth us from all sin. All sin. Original sin in
Adam and sins of my commission. All sin. Look over a few pages
of Revelation chapter 1. In Revelation 1 verse 5, look how
John, the Apostle John, describes our Lord Jesus Christ. He says, And from Jesus Christ,
who is the faithful witness and first begotten of the dead and
prince of the kings of the earth, unto him that loved us and washed
us from our sins in his own blood. One more scripture over a few
pages of Revelation 7. Verse 13. John has seen this innumerable
host in their white robes. And one of the elders answered,
saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes,
and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou
knowest. And he said to me, These are
they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed
their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." His
blood is precious in its cleansing power. Fourth, the blood of Christ
is precious. in its power to make peace. The
blood of Christ is the one and only way that both God and men
can be at peace. The only way God and men can
be at peace is through the blood of Christ. Now, the blood of
the sacrifice is offered to God. That blood's not offered to you.
The blood's offered to God. God is the offended party. We've
sinned against Him. And his holy anger must be appeased. And the Father is pleased with
the blood of Christ. The blood of Christ answers God's
holiness. It answers God's law and justice. The blood of the sacrifice of
his Son is a sweet savor to God. Look back at Leviticus again,
chapter 4. And the blood is offered to God. The blood of the sacrifice
is before the Lord. Leviticus 4, verse 6, and the priest shall dip his
finger in the blood and sprinkle of the blood seven times before
the Lord, before the Lord, before the veil of the sanctuary. In
verse 17, he says it again, the priest shall dip his finger in
some of the blood and he'll sprinkle it seven times before the Lord,
even before the veil. The blood is offered to the Lord. Where did you find the blood
of the Passover lamb? That father would kill the Passover
lamb and he'd sprinkle the blood on the doorposts with them. On
the outside of the house. Then he'd go in, shut the door. They'd eat the Passover and there
they'd sit all night. Is this firstborn safe? Pretty
precious at firstborn. Safe? Well, yeah, he's safe. How do you know? Well, the blood. You can't see it. Is it still
there? Is it enough? You can't see.
How do you know he's safe? The blood's not offered to you.
The blood's offered to the Lord. All that matters is God see the
blood. When I see the blood, not your
neighbor see the blood, not you see the blood, not the firstborn
see the blood. When I see the blood. I'll pass
over you in mercy. The blood is offered to God. And the blood of Christ appeases
God. It appeases His holiness, His
wrath against our sin, and puts God at peace with men, with His
elect. And the exact same blood brings
peace. Peace to the soul of a sinner. The only way a sinner can be
at peace is to be under the blood of Jesus. Under the blood of
Jesus. safe in the shepherd's fold.
It's through the blood. That's where our peace comes.
The only way that I can have peace is to know Christ died
for me. He shed his blood for me in the
Spirit. Applied the blood to my heart.
I can't have peace in anything I've done or haven't done. It's
in the precious blood of Christ. And I'll tell you what brings
peace. I see over and over and over again, particularly on Wednesday
nights, I come driving in here and leave driving down this street
just on air. A new person. Why? The preaching of the Lord Jesus
Christ. And if you preach Christ, what
are you preaching? Christ and Him crucified. It's the blood that gives peace
to the soul. Not because I did something right.
Not because I sacrificed and sacrificed and came to church
on Wednesday night. It's the blood that gives peace.
When the Holy Spirit applies the precious blood of Christ
to my heart, then and only then do I have peace. Look at Colossians
chapter 1. First the blood offered to the
Father and he's at peace. Then a sinner can be at peace. Colossians 1 verse 20. And having
made peace, how? Through the blood of His cross.
By Him to reconcile all things unto Himself. By Him, I say,
whether they be things in earth or things in heaven. And even
you, even me, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your
mind by wicked works, yet now hath He reconciled in the body
of His flesh through death. through His shed blood to present
you what? Holy, unblameable, and unreprovable
in His sight. If you're holy, unblameable,
unreprovable, what's troubling you? You've
got peace through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Fifth,
the blood of Christ is precious in His power to plead our cause
to the Father. Look at Hebrews chapter 12. Precious
in its power to plead our cause to the Father. Hebrews 12 verse 24. And to Jesus, the mediator of
the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaketh
better things than that of Abel. And he could be referring there
to Abel's sacrifice. Certainly, the blood of Christ
speaks better things than that sacrifice. It was just an animal
sacrifice. But the blood of Christ also
speaks better things than Abel's blood did. What did Abel's blood
speak? The Lord told Cain, He said,
the voice of thy brother's blood crieth to me from the ground.
What was his brother's blood speaking? Guilt. Somebody killed me. Guilt. That's what Abel's blood speaks.
What does the blood of Christ speak? Innocent. Not guilty. Abel's blood cried
death. Somebody died. What does the
blood of Christ speak? Eternal life. They speak of better
things than that of Abel's. At Calvary, Christ said, Father,
forgive them, for they know not what they did. Now, I have no
way of knowing how many of those people there at that scene who
were casting lots for his garment were forgiven. But I know this. The only way that any of them
or any of us can ever be forgiven is through the blood that our
Savior shed as he made that prayer. Father, forgive them. He could
pray, Father, forgive them. He could plead their cause for
one reason. The blood that he was shedding
at that very moment. for the Lord. And our plea should
be, Father, forgive me for Christ's sake. Wash me in the blood. Only see me in the blood. That
should be our plea because that's the plea the Father will hear
because of the power of the precious blood of Christ to plead for
sinners. He'll hear that plea. Sixth, the blood of Christ is
precious. and its power to give mercy to
sinners. Look back at Leviticus again,
chapter 16. His blood is precious because the blood of Christ has
the power to give mercy to sinners. In Leviticus 16, verse 14, this
is here on the Day of Atonement. And he, the high priest, shall
take of the blood of the bullock and sprinkle it with his finger
upon the mercy seat. eastward, and before the mercy
seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times. Then shall he kill to go to the
sin offering that is for the people, and bring his blood within
the veil, and do with that blood as he did for the blood of the
bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the
mercy seat." The blood is sprinkled on the mercy seat. The blood
of the sacrifice is on the mercy seat, and that's telling us there's
no mercy without blood. on the mercy seat. We read in
the New Testament that Christ is our propitiation. And you
know the word propitiation is the New Testament word for mercy
seat. He shed his own blood on the
mercy seat to enable God to be just and justifier, to enable
God to remain God and be merciful to sinners like you and me because
the blood is offered on the mercy seat. Seventh, the blood of Christ
is precious in its power to melt the stony heart. Now, there is
nothing harder than the human heart. Nothing. The human heart
is so hard and selfish, you cannot do anything to change it. You
can't do anything to affect it and mold it because it's too
hard. Even when we try to be kind to someone else, It's for
selfish reasons. It's not because our heart suddenly
got so tender. It's because of selfish reasons. The human heart is hard. That's
why Scripture says we've got to be given a new heart. But
Scripture does speak of the heart being melted. Well, what will
make a sinner truly mourn and have his heart melted and broken
within him? It's the blood of the sacrifice. of the Lord Jesus Christ. My
heart will be broken and I will truly mourn if the Lord ever
lets me see it's my sins that nailed the Savior to the tree.
It's my sins. Now my heart will be broken.
What did Zacharias say? They shall look on me whom they
pierced and mourn. That's when we'll mourn is when
we see His precious blood was shed on my account because of
my sin. My prayer is God be merciful
and give us just a glimpse, just a glimpse of who we are and give
us a glimpse of our suffering Savior and have some sense of
His precious blood. It will break our heart. It will
change you completely and make you a new person. Eighth, the
blood of Christ is precious. His power to justify. Now, justify
is to be made without sin. Not to be made like you don't
have any sin. Not to be made like you never
sinned. To be made without sin. Without any trace of sin. Without
any sense of sin. Without sin. Sin separated from
you as far as the east is from the west. Gone. That's justified. Now the only way a sinner who
does nothing but sin can be justified is in the precious blood of Christ. Look at Romans 5. Romans 5 verse 9. His blood is
precious and has power to justify. Verse 8, he says, But God commended
His love toward us, and that while we were yet sinners, Christ
died for us, much more than being now justified by His blood. We should be saved from wrath
through Him. It's the blood that justifies. And ninth, the blood of Christ
is precious in its sanctifying power. Look over at Hebrews chapter
13. Scripture plainly teaches that
sinners are made holy. That's what being sanctified
is, being made holy, set apart for holy use in the blood of
the Lord Jesus Christ. In Hebrews 13 verse 11, speaking
here of the Old Testament sacrifices, he says, for the bodies of those
beasts whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high
priest for sin are burned without the camp. Those bodies were taken
outside the camp and burned because they were defiled. Wherefore
Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood,
suffered without the gate." That's how we're sanctified is through
the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ made holy. But now the blood
of Christ goes a whole lot further than just promising you you'll
be holy someday. The blood of Christ goes further
than just giving you a legal holy standing before God that
you can't enjoy right now. The blood of Christ makes a believer
holy. A new creature and made holy. And the blood of Christ sanctifies
the believer's walk through this world too. Look back a few pages
of Hebrews 9. And I'll show you this. sanctifies us before God, the
blood of Christ also sanctifies our walk through this life. Hebrews
9 verse 13. For the blood of bulls and goats,
and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies 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. You serve the living God because
His blood has sanctified your walk in this life. His blood
is precious in its sanctifying power. In our text over here
in 1 Peter, what's Peter talking about here? He's encouraging
believers to live a holy life. Well, what's your motive to live
a holy life? Nothing but the blood of Christ. He says in verse
14, he says, as obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according
to the former lusts 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 am holy. And if you call on
the Father, who, without respect of persons, judges according
to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here
in fear, because you know forasmuch, because you know that you are
not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold, through
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 barely 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
from the dead, and gave him glory, that your faith and hope might
be in God. Now seeing you have purified your souls in obeying
the truth, through the Spirit, unto unfeigned love of the brethren,
See that you love one another with a pure heart fervently.
Well, how are you going to be holy as He is holy? How are you
going to walk in a holy manner? How are you going to love the
brethren with a pure heart fervently? The blood of Christ sanctifies
His people. That's exactly how. The believer
has a genuine desire to live in holiness and despise sin,
to not sin. Every day I wake up, it's my
desire. It's my goal not to sin. I know
I'll fail, but that's my desire. How can I wake up in the morning
planning on sinning, planning on enjoying sinning when it's
my sin that caused the Savior to shed his blood? His blood
sanctifies his people. Tenth, the blood of Christ is
precious in its power to give us access to the Father. Now,
the high priest of old, One day a year entered into the Holy
of Holies, into the very presence of God, didn't he? And he had
to go with blood. Look at Hebrews chapter 9. He had to go with blood. In verse
7, he says, but into the second, into the Holy of Holies went
the high priest alone, once every year, and not without blood,
which he offered for himself and for the heirs of the people.
He did that every year. year after year after year after
year. And he died and his son took
his place and did it year after year after year. Why'd they keep
doing that? That blood didn't take away sin.
That blood was just a picture of the blood of Christ. But even
with that animal sacrifice, he could go into the Holy of Holies.
We'll look over here in chapter 9, verse 12. But neither by the
blood of goats and cows, but by His own blood He entered in
once into the holy place, into the presence of God, having obtained
eternal redemption for us. Our Lord went with His blood
and obtained eternal redemption for us with His own blood. And
now, because of the sacrifice of Christ, because He took His
blood on the altar before the Father, every believer has free
and total access to the Father. because of the blood of Christ.
Look at verse 19 here in chapter 10 of Hebrews. Having therefore, brethren, boldness
to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. If you're
going to enter into the holiest, you don't come to the Father
with your good works. You don't come to the Father
with your good doctrine. You come to the Father in the
blood of Christ. And if you come boldly, I know
you're a sinner, I understand that, but if you come with the
blood of Christ, you can come boldly into the presence of God
Himself because the precious blood of Christ gives us access
to the Father. He gives us access not because
of us, but because of the blood of His Son. It's precious blood.
Eleventh, the blood of Christ is precious in its power to overcome
any obstacle. Any! Just think it up. the blood
of Christ will overcome it. We've already seen the blood
of Christ is the power to overcome sin, to overcome the guilt of
sin, the stain of sin. His blood is the power to give
peace, to sanctify, to justify, to give access to the Father,
any obstacle. Look in Revelations chapter 12.
I've never really seen this before this week. The blood of Christ
has the power to overcome any obstacle and every enemy. In Revelation 12, verse 10, I heard a loud voice saying in
heaven, Now has come salvation and strength and the kingdom
of our God and the power of his Christ. For the accuser of our
brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day
and night, and they overcame him. by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony. And they love not their lives
unto death. How do they overcome? Armed with the blood of Christ
and the word of God. The blood of Christ will overcome
any enemy. Go armed confidently with the
blood of Christ. Twelve, the blood of Christ is
precious in its power to ratify the covenant of grace. Now I
know this. God is a covenant God. God deals
with men through a covenant. And we read at the opening of
the service, no last will and testament is of any force as
long as the testator liveth. In order for that last will and
testament to be put into effect, the testator must die. Christ
is the testator of the new covenant, the covenant of grace. And he
died. He shed his blood to ratify the
covenant of grace. He died to ratify, to put into
effect, every promise that God made to his people. He ratified
those promises. Look at Matthew 26. That's why
he died. To ratify the covenant. Matthew 26, verse 28. For this
is my blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for their
omissions of sin. This is the blood of the new
covenant. The blood of Christ's scripture
is called the blood of the everlasting covenant. The eternal covenant
of grace was ratified when Christ shed his blood. And that brings
me to the last point. I didn't tell you I had 13 points
before I started because you all freak out. I don't just want to preach about
the blood. I don't want to just preach about
Christ. I want to preach the precious
blood of Christ. I want to preach Christ, not
about Him, preach Him. Maybe I can do that by making
all this applicable. The blood of Christ is precious.
And it's life-giving power. It's life-giving power applied
to you. I have here in my notes, in order
to enjoy all the benefits of the precious blood of Christ.
I was going over my notes this morning, this is a much better
way to say it. In order to enjoy the preciousness of the blood
of Christ, the blood has to be applied. What we read about the
saints in Revelations, what did they do? They washed their robes
in the blood of Christ. The blood has to be applied. Right where you sit, right this
minute, you come to Christ. You submit to Him. You come to
Him. You plunge yourself in the fountain
open for sin. You come to Him begging for mercy
and stay right there at His feet. waiting on Him to show mercy,
waiting on Him to apply the blood. The best food in this world will
not do a starving man any good unless he eats it. He can sit
and look at the table that's set. He can enjoy the presentation
of the food. He can admire the serving dishes.
He can admire the silverware and the napkins and the china
floral arrangement on the table. He can be impressed that the
chef sent people all over the world to gather the best ingredients
from all over the world to make this meal. He can be impressed
by smelling the aroma coming from the kitchen. Something good
is going on in there. It must be. I can smell it. He
can be impressed by the others sitting around the table eating
the meal and enjoying it. Enjoying its life-giving flavor.
But all that's useless to him until he takes the food and eats
it. If he doesn't, he'll die. At
the last Passover, at the first Lord's table, our Lord explained
to his disciples what that bread meant. He said, this is my body
broken for you. Then what did he say? Take and
eat it. You take it and eat it. And he
told them what that wine represented. He said, this is my blood, which
is shed for you. And what did he tell him? Take
it and drink it. All of it. All of it. You take and eat. Look at John
chapter six and I'll close. Take and eat. It's got to be eaten to have
the life giving power. In John six, verse 53. Then Jesus said unto them, Verily,
verily, I say unto you, except you eat the flesh of the Son
of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Now, in
the Old Testament, it was forbidden for anyone to eat the blood of
an animal, of a sacrifice or any other animal. It was forbidden
under the old law. But in the Gospel, he says you
drink his blood or you have no life in you because his blood,
there's life in the blood. power to give life. Verse 54,
Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life,
and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat
indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh,
and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living
Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father, so he that eateth
me, even he shall live by me. Not just in him, but by him.
This is that bread which came down from heaven. Now as your
fathers did eat manna and are dead, he that eateth this bread,
and you could add, drinketh this blood, shall live forever. The blood of Christ is precious
in its life-giving power. Take and eat. And what the chorus
says, reach out and touch the Lord as he passes by. Take and eat. The Lord bless
you.