Good morning, again. If you would, turn with me to Luke
chapter nine. Luke chapter nine. And Matthew, I know I'll forget
later. Thank you. That was beautiful. I've enjoyed this morning so
far. So much, there's an article in
the bulletin, the song, Rex's comments as I got up here just
knit together so well with this message this morning. There's
something I think all of us enjoy doing. When we meet up with friends,
Friends we've been separated from for a while. We'll get together
and start talking and generally we'll start talking about things
that we did when we were together. Things that we went through. Things that we enjoyed doing.
Sometimes things that were hard for us that we went through together. And generally, the conversation
goes something along these lines. Remember when we... yeah, yeah,
that was tough. That was a hard time that we
went through, or a hard task we were trying to perform, but
we got through it, and at the end of it, we had this. And it's a special moment for
us, and we relive it together. And sometimes when we depart,
as we've gotten together and we meet up and renew those friendships,
and then we have to go our separate ways, life comes back together. And as we're driving home, maybe
this was a really good friend, somebody we'd been with a long
time, somebody we trusted, and they had helped us through a
really tough spot. And that didn't come up in conversation,
but as we're driving home, we remember that because it wasn't
exactly a good time that we want to relive together, but it happened. And as we're driving home, we
think about that and how that friend helped us get through
that tough time. And it's a cherished moment.
As I thought on this type of scenario, It occurred to me that
for those that the Lord's been pleased to reveal himself to,
that's what brings us back. Week after week, message after
message, speaker after speaker, we come together and we hear
one more time what our friend, what our Savior, what our Lord
has accomplished for us. And that's what we enjoy about
coming and gathering like we are this morning. We want to
hear about his accomplishments. Luke chapter nine, verse 28. And it came to pass after about
an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter, our Lord, took
Peter and John and James and went up into a mountain to pray. And as he prayed, the fashion
of his countenance was altered and his raiment was white and
glistening. And behold, there talked with
him two men, which were Moses and Elias, who appeared in glory
and spake of his decease, his death, which he should accomplish
at Jerusalem. I can't remember the man who
brought the message. I don't even know how old I was. I may have been young, I can't
remember. But I do remember in his message
he brought out so well that it has stuck with me these many
years. They spake of his decease. They spake of his death which
he should accomplish. Not endure, not his death that
he should suffer, but his death which he should accomplish. When
our Lord went to that cross, when He surrendered His body
to be nailed to that tree, when He shed His precious blood, when
He gave up the ghost, He accomplished the salvation of those given
to Him by His Father. I've titled this message, The
Accomplishment of His Blood. And in this declaration, may
the Lord be pleased to reveal to us who Christ died for, what
His blood accomplished, and the blessings we enjoy because of
His accomplishment. Now, we all lost an hour of sleep
last night, at least. We're going to turn a bit this
morning. Turn with me to Acts chapter 20. You don't have to
hold Luke here. Acts chapter 20. Paul here is bidding the leaders
of Ephesus farewell. This is the last time he'll see
them in the flesh. Acts 20 verse 28. He says, take heed therefore
unto yourselves and to 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." Before I get into the heart of the message,
it must be plainly declared that the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ
was not shed in vain. In Isaiah 55, God said, So shall
my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth, It shall not return
unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall
prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." The Word of God,
the written Word, the spoken Word, the Word which was in the
beginning. Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Word,
shall accomplish that which God pleases. And what is it that
he pleases? John 6, 39, And this is the Father's
will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me
I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last
day. Now we just read the phrase,
the church of God. This phrase shows ownership,
sovereignty, particularity. This phrase means God's church. Here's our question. What kind
of people make up God's church? the church of God. Everyone has
an answer to that question. The world at large tends to rely
on having an answer to that question. Almost every obituary you read
will say something to the effect of, was a member of this church? There's an entire denomination
that takes to itself the title, the Church of God. Most of the world thinks the
Church of God is made up of good, church-going folks. But what do the scriptures say? Hold your place here in Acts,
we'll come back and turn over to Ephesians chapter two. Ephesians
chapter two. Just read where Paul was addressing
the Ephesians in person, now he's writing to them. And he
says, this letter is to the saints and the faithful in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2 verse 1 says, and
you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins. wherein in time past ye walked
according to the course of this world, according to the prince
of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the
children of disobedience. Among whom also we all had our
conversation in times past, in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling
the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature
the children of wrath, even as others. The church of God is
made up of those who are just like every other child of Adam,
dead in trespasses and sins. Earthly, children of disobedience,
Our walk, our way of life was to fulfill the lust of the flesh,
to fulfill the desires of the flesh and of the mind. Now, we
typically, as we do with all things, take that word lust and
apply it to this flesh. But I dare say we have a worse
lust than that. Our worst lust of the flesh is
to me be all the glory. Praise me. Isaiah recorded for
us, How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer? For thou hast
said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven. I will exalt my
throne above the stars of God. I will be like the Most High."
The Church of God is made up of sinners with the same fallen
nature as all of Adam's children, with one exception, but God. according to the good pleasure
of His will, because it pleased Him, chose an innumerable number
of Adam's fallen race to the glory of His grace. Church of God is made up of fallen,
ruined sinners, redeemed by God, chosen by God, called by God, dead. When our Lord and Savior
went to that cross, when He poured out His blood, when He gave up
the ghost, when He entered into the tomb, when He came forth
again, Did He do that for me? Am I one of the Church of God? Did He do it for you? Are you
one of the Church of God? Is there a way to know? Yes. Those sinners, chosen of God,
purchased by the blood of Christ, we have a tale. We have a characteristic
that lets us know there is a continual war within
this heart. The flesh, the old man, still
cries out, to me be all the glory. I will. But the new man, the new creature
in Christ Jesus, Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. What did he accomplish to fulfill
our salvation? Hold your place here. Turn back
over to Acts. Acts 20, verse 28. Take heed therefore unto yourselves. Acts 20, 28. and to 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."
There was a price required, a price required by God's holiness, by
His justice, by His mercy, by His grace, by His truth, a price
that had to be paid for the salvation of God's church. We have sinned,
and that sin cannot be ignored. It can't just be hidden under
the rug. It must be paid for. The wages, the earnings of what
I am, sin, is death. When Christ shed His blood, when
He gave up the ghost, He paid the wages of sin owed by His
people. When He shed His blood, when
He accomplished that purchase of the church of God, what was
being paid. Flip back over to Ephesians 1. Ephesians 1 verse 7. In whom, in the Beloved, in the
Lord Jesus Christ, in whom we have redemption through His blood,
the forgiveness of sins. Our sins held us bound, and when
we had nothing to pay, Christ shed His blood to redeem us from
our debt. The forgiveness of sins. Forgiveness meaning release from
bondage or imprisonment. As I was studying on this, it
dawned on me as it has never dawned before, These letters
written, Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians, Galatians, sometimes
they were written years apart from one another. We have the
Word of God bound in one book. Do we realize the blessing we
have? that we have, right here, over and over and over again,
given us the same words. Ephesians 1-7, In whom we have
redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins according
to the riches of His grace. Colossians 1 14 in whom we have
redemption through his blood even the forgiveness of sins
Turn with me to Hebrews chapter 9 Hebrews chapter 9 Hebrews 9 verse 11 But Christ, being come and high
priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect
tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building,
neither by the blood of goats and calves, But by His own blood
He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal
redemption for us. And the writer continues, verse
26, last part of the verse. But now once in the end of the
world hath He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice, by
the shedding of His blood. by the sacrifice of Himself. In the shedding of blood, He
redeemed us. He obtained forgiveness of our
sins. What's that mean? It means we're
cleansed. 1 John 1, 6 and 7 says, if we
say that we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, we
lie and do not the truth. 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. A couple of years ago, we were
doing some work in our basement, and it was work that took many
months to complete. And every time I had a few minutes,
there was work to be done down there, I went down to work on
it. I had half an hour before supper, I went down to work on
it. And even if I was down for just that short span of time,
even if I didn't do anything that really required a lot of
effort, I'd go back upstairs and jump in the shower. I felt
nasty. It was a construction zone. It
was dirty. And I just felt covered in it
every time I went down there. And I imagine we've all been
in a place or in circumstances where when you get home from
where it was, you're just nasty. I need a shower. I've got to
wash this off. In our sins, we are covered in
filth from head to toe. And there is nothing, there is
no remedy at all for that but the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Under the blood of Jesus, though
our sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow. the blood of our Lord, purchased
the church of God, obtained eternal redemption, the forgiveness of
sins, it cleanses us. And for each soul that Christ
shed his blood for, we have this testimony recorded in Romans
5. But God commendeth his love toward us in that while we were
yet sinners, Christ died for us. much more than being now
justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him."
We are justified. Justified meaning rendered righteous,
declared righteous, made innocent, free of thought, free of guilt. By the blood of Christ, this
sinner before you stands, declared by God, justified. And for all whom Christ died
for, we all have that same testimony, justified. Now, as I stand here,
as we go about our daily lives, do I feel righteous? Do I feel
just? Do I feel innocent? No. In this flesh, I continue in
thought, in word, in deed, to sin before God. We continue to
be unrighteous. We continue to be unjust. And yet, we have this sure and
certain Word being now justified. How? How can it be? I pray this will
be a blessing to you. Turn over to John, and hold your
place here in Hebrews, but turn over to John, John chapter 18. John chapter 18 Verse five, I
wanna look at just the last sentence. John 18, five. And Judas also, which betrayed
him, stood with them. Now, in my Bible, just across
the page, verse 18. And the servants and officers,
I'm certain that some of these servants and officers were there
when Judas went to the garden to take our Lord. And the servants
and officers stood there who had made a fire of coals, for
it was cold, and they warmed themselves And Peter stood with
them and warmed himself." Imagine, if you will, not knowing
the end of the story, that you are watching these events
unfold as it happens. Who would we naturally declare
to be more righteous in this situation? Judas or Peter? Judas stood with those that came
to take Christ. He was loyal to those he had
cast his lot in with. Just a few moments before all
this took place, Peter had declared, though everyone else forsake
you, I'll never leave you. And now, for the discomfort of
his body, he pulls up and gathers around that same fire with those
he had sworn to fight against. Naturally, naturally speaking,
not knowing the end of the story, we would say that Judas was the
more righteous. Peter's a hypocrite. He's gone
and gathered with the enemy. He's warming himself at their
fire. Yet all the while, God Almighty
declared Peter just. and Judas unjust. How? The Lord Jesus Christ, as he
walked this earth, did always those things that pleased God. And in Christ Jesus, Peter did
always those things that pleased God. In the Lord Jesus Christ,
every sinner God has redeemed do always those things that please
God. Even David with Bathsheba. We are now justified in the eyes
of the only one that it matters, in the eyes of God. By the blood of Christ, we are
cleansed, justified, and sanctified. Turn back to Hebrews, this time
Hebrews 13. Hebrews 13, verse 12. Wherefore, Jesus also, Hebrews
13, 12, Wherefore, Jesus also, that he
might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without
the gate. The blood of Christ has sanctified. made holy, separated unto God. The blood He shed to redeem His
people has justified us. Our actions have been made right
and just before God. He has cleansed us from all sin
and He has sanctified us. We have so many examples of sanctification
in the Old Testament, but I'm just going to point out the first
one. Genesis 2. And God blessed the seventh day
and sanctified it, because that in it he had rested from all
his work which God created and made. The seventh day was sanctified. Why? Was it not a day? Was it not a day just like every
other day? The sun had come up, the sun
had set. It was a day. It was a day as any other day. But for, but God, the master
of the day, said this one is sanctified. Sanctification is not something
we can do. It's not something we can accomplish
for ourselves. It is the work, it is the accomplishment
of God Himself, of the Lord Jesus Christ with His own blood. Justification and sanctification,
we're in need of both. A man may be justified in his
actions, but not sanctified. If I am speeding, and I have in the car with me
someone who needs emergency medical care, and I am speeding to get
to the hospital, I am justified in my actions, but I am not sanctified. A man or a woman who is a driver
of an ambulance is justified and sanctified in their speeding
towards the hospital with their patient. That ambulance driver has been
set apart. Who set them apart? Did they
do it themselves? They studied. I assume, I'm not
an ambulance driver, but I assume there's some kind of course involved
in becoming an ambulance driver and you have to pass certain
regulations, whatever. I can do that. Theoretically,
I could take those tests and I might could pass. But until
the law says, you're an ambulance driver. I'm
not sanctified. I might know how to do it all.
But until a higher authority says, you've been set apart. You're just like everybody else,
but you've been set apart. This sinner before you, I need
my actions to be made just. Those things that you see me
do, I need them to be just before God. And I need for this heart,
this black, Wicked depraved nature. I Need it to be sanctified. I need it to be made holy How
can this This sin Head to toe the whole Man is sin. That's my nature How can that
be made holy? In the Lord Jesus Christ in whom
there is no sin, as He is holy, as He is sanctified, as He took
our place in life and in death, and as He has robed us in His
own righteousness, as He is, so are we in this world. By His shed blood, He accomplished
our sanctification. The precious blood of our Lord
Jesus Christ has purchased the Church of God, obtained eternal
redemption, secured the forgiveness of sins, cleansed us, justified
us, and sanctified us. And because of all of this, we
have some great blessings. We have peace. Colossians 1.20,
having made peace where once there was enmity through the
blood of his cross. Ephesians 2.13, now in Christ
Jesus, ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the
blood of Christ. Hebrews 10, turn back just a
couple pages. Hebrews 10, verse 19. Hebrews 10, 19. Having therefore,
because of all that Christ accomplished in the shedding of his precious
blood, having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest
by the blood of Jesus. By the blood of our Lord Jesus
Christ, there is peace between God and men. We who were afar
off are made nigh. and we may have boldness to come
into the presence of the Most High God and make our petitions
known. O Lord, teach me to pray. Is there any wonder left in us
that when Moses and Elias appeared there with our Lord, that they
spake of his decease which he should accomplish. Someday, quite soon, we will
join the myriad of saints that have gone before us, and we shall
speak and sing of all he has accomplished. And they sung a
new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open
the seals thereof. For thou wast slain, and hast
redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every kindred, and tongue,
and people, and nation. May the Lord be pleased as we
depart one another once more. to enable us to remember all
that He has accomplished for us. I pray the Lord will bless
that to us.