from Kingsport, Gabe and everyone
there. If you would, open with me to
Luke chapter 9. Now, there's something I think
all of us enjoy doing. You know, when we've been separated
from friends for a while, we enjoy getting back together,
getting reacquainted with them, especially when it's been a while
since we've seen one another. And a lot of times when we join
together, after that long absence, we'll talk about things from
when we spent time together. Go back and reminisce about things
we did, things we went through together, things we endured together,
things we enjoyed together. And a lot of times the conversation
will go something along the lines of, you remember when? Yeah, oh, that was a good time. We had so much fun doing that. And you remember that time when
we, oh, that was hard. We had to get something done,
and it had to be done right, and it took so much time, but
at the end of it, we had this. We had accomplished this thing. And a lot of times, especially
with really good, close friends, at the end of that, reunion,
as we drive back home or go our separate ways, start thinking
about other things that happened when you were together. And maybe
there were some times that didn't come up in the conversation because
they were hard times. They were times that hurt. But
you're free. They were just there for you.
And that time is a special memory. It's not something you talk about,
but it's something you hold dear. As I thought about these things,
I came to the realization that for those that the Lord has been
pleased to reveal himself to, that's what brings us back time
after time, week after week, service after service. We want
to hear of what our friend, our savior, our Lord has done for
us. The things that he has accomplished
for us. That's what we come to worship,
to hear of his great accomplishments. Luke chapter nine, beginning
in verse 28. Luke 9, 28. And it came to pass after about,
excuse me, came to pass about an eight days after these sayings. He 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. who appeared in glory and spake
of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem." I don't remember the man that
I heard bring the message. I don't remember all the points
of his message, but I do remember Verse 31, he brought out so well
during that message, they spake of his decease. They spake of
his death, which he should accomplish. Not suffer, not endure, but his
death, which he should accomplish. When our Lord went to that cross,
when he surrendered his body to be nailed on that tree, when
he shed his precious blood, when he gave up the ghost, he accomplished
salvation for those given to him by God the Father. I've entitled our message this
morning, The Accomplishment of His Blood. And in this declaration,
may the Lord be pleased to reveal to us who Christ died for, what
he accomplished, and the blessings that we enjoy because of his
accomplishment. We're gonna turn quite a bit
this morning. Turn with me first to Acts chapter
20, and you don't need to hold your place here and look. Acts
chapter 20. Acts 20, verse 28. Acts 20, verse 28. 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. For I get too far into the message,
it must be plainly declared that the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ
was not shed in vain. In Isaiah 55, 11, 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 Christ Jesus shall accomplish
that which I please." And what is that which God pleased? 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. Now, in Acts 20, we just read
the phrase, the church of God. This phrase shows ownership,
sovereignty, and particularity. This phrase means God's church. Now, here's the question. What
kind of people make up the church of God? Everyone has an answer to that
question. tends to rely upon having an
answer to that question. In almost every obituary you
read, you will read, so-and-so was a member of such-and-such. There's an entire denomination
that takes to itself Most of the world says that the
church of God is made up of good church-going folks. But what says the scriptures?
Who makes up the church of God according to the scriptures?
Hold your finger here on X and turn over to Ephesians chapter
two. Ephesians 2, Paul is addressing
here the saints, the faithful in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2
verse 1, and you, you saints, you faithful in Christ, 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 our flesh,
to fulfill the desires of the flesh and of the mind. Now, typically
we'll read this and we immediately apply it to the flesh, the lust
of our flesh. But I dare say the worst lust
of our flesh is to me. Isaiah recorded for us again,
How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer? For thou hast said
in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven. church is made up of sinners. Not some folks that have just
done some bad things. Some folks that it's been revealed. That's what I am. Top to bottom,
in and out, sin. All the way through. With the
same fallen nature as all of Adam's fallen children. according to the good pleasure
of his will, simply because it seemed good in his sight, chose
an innumerable number of Adam's fallen race to the glory of his
grace. Did, when our Lord and Savior Did he do that for me? Did he
do it for you? How can I know? Is there a way? There's a way. Those sinners,
those chosen of God, purchased by the blood of Christ, they
all have a tale. They all have a sign, a way of knowing. There's
a continual war in that person's heart. It's ongoing. Can't be seen from the outside.
This is something within. The flesh, the old man, continues
to cry out, to me be all the glory. I will. But the new man, The new creation
in Christ cries unto him, be all glory, all power, all praise. Now, my second point. What did he accomplish to fulfill
our salvation? Turn back over to Acts chapter
20. Oh, and I should have told you
to hold in Ephesians. We'll go back there in a moment.
But Acts 20. Verse 28 again. 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. 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. That sin cannot
simply be swept under the rug. It cannot be ignored. It must
be paid. The wages, the earnings, what
you, what we, justly receive for what we are
is death. The wages of 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 the purchase of the church of God, what was
being paid? Flip back over to Ephesians chapter
one. Ephesians 1, verse 7. Ephesians 1, 7. In whom, in the
beloved, in the Lord Jesus Christ, 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
that debt. The forgiveness of sins. Forgiveness
meaning release from bondage or imprisonment. As I studied this, it dawned
on me like it's never dawned on me before. What a great blessing
we have this bound together in one bond. Many of these letters were written
years apart but we have them today in one book and we can
read the same words of encouragement over and over again. Ephesians
1 7 in whom we have redemption through his blood 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. 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. Then go over to verse 26, the last part of the verse. But
now, once in the end of the world, hath he appeared to put away
sin, by the sacrifice of himself. In the shedding of his blood,
he has redeemed us. He's obtained the forgiveness
of our sins. What does that mean? Hold your
place here in Hebrews just for a moment and turn over real quick,
1 John 1. 1 John 1. What's it mean that we've been
redeemed, that we have, our sins have been forgiven? It means
we've been cleansed. 1 John 1, verse six. 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, cleanses us from all
sin. Don't need to hold there in 1
John. A couple of years ago, we were doing some work in our
basement, and this took several months, a year or so to finish. Well, still ongoing, to be honest,
but anyway, it's not as bad as it was. Every now and again,
I would get 10, 15 minutes before supper's gonna be ready, and
I'd run down to the basement, trying to get some more done. And it didn't take long. In fact,
it was so bad down there, just walking down into the basement,
I felt dirty. I would come back up and just,
I've gotta take a shower. And I imagine we've all been
to places or circumstances that you come back from and you just, I'm just spilting. We, in our sins, are covered
head to toe, in and out with filth. And there is no remedy
for it except for the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Under
the blood of Jesus, The blood of our Lord Jesus Christ
purchased the church of God, obtained eternal redemption,
the forgiveness of sins, cleanses us, and for each soul Christ
has shed his blood for, we have this testimony recorded for us
in Romans 5. But God commendeth his love toward
us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died We are justified. We are rendered
righteous, declared righteous, made innocent, free from fault,
free from guilt. By the blood of Christ Jesus,
this guilty sinner stands before you, declared by God, justified. we all have that same testimony
justified. Now, as I stand before you, as
we sit here this morning, as we go about our daily lives,
do we feel justified? Do we feel righteous? No, not
in this flesh. In this flesh, I continue in
word, thought, and deed to sin before God. I continue to be
unrighteous and unjust, yet we have this sure and certain word
being now justified. How? Well, Hold your place here in Hebrews
and turn to John, John chapter 18. John chapter 18. the last sentence of verse five. John 18, the last sentence of
verse five. And Judas also, which betrayed
him, stood with them. Them is that band of men, officers,
that the chief priest and the Pharisees Now, in my Bible, it's just over
the page at verse 18. And the servants and officers
stood there, who had made a coal of fires, for it was cold. And they warmed themselves, and
Peter stood with them and warmed himself. if you would, not knowing the
story. Being there and watching these
two men as these events unfolded, who would we, if we watched Judas
and Peter, who would we declare acted more righteously? Judas
stood with those who came to take Christ. He remained loyal to those he
had cast his lot in with. Peter, who just a few hours before
this, had declared that though everyone else would leave our
Lord, he never would, but now For the discomfort of
his body, he pulls up around the fire and joins in with those
that he had promised he would stand against. Not knowing the story, who would
we say acted more righteously? Naturally speaking, we would
all declare Peter a hypocrite. Yet all the while, God Almighty
had already declared Peter just and Judas unjust. How? Lord Jesus Christ, as he walked
on 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 does always those things that
please God. We are now justified in the Lord Jesus Christ. By the blood of Christ, we are
cleansed, justified, and sanctified. If you held your place there
in Hebrews, turn over to Hebrews chapter 13. Hebrews chapter 13. Hebrews 13, verse 12. Wherefore, Jesus also, that he
might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without
the gift. 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. He has cleansed us from all sin
and he has sanctified us. And we have many examples given
to us of sanctification in the Old Testament. I'm gonna call
out just the first. Genesis chapter two, verse three
says, 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. Wow. It was a day as any other. Sun rose, the sun set. It was
a day. What made it different from any
of the other days? But God. The master of the day
said, you're sanctified, and set it apart. Sanctification
is not something that we can do for ourselves. It is the work. It is the accomplishment of God
himself, the Lord Jesus Now, justified and sanctified. I'm in need of both. A man may
be justified in his actions, but not sanctified. For example, you are speeding, but you are
speeding towards a hospital because you have someone in your vehicle
in need medical care. You are justified in your actions
of speeding, but you are not sanctified. Yesterday, as we
arrived at the hotel, there was an ambulance come up behind us.
Its lights were flashing, and it was driving in every lane
that was possible. left lane, it'd be in the right
lane, it'd be in the center line, going down the middle, is all
the route. And nobody thought a thing about
it. That driver, I'm sure, had, I
imagine, I don't know anything about ambulance drivers, but
I imagine there's some kind of test you have to take to be said,
you're an ambulance driver. And that driver would have studied,
prepared for the test, taken the test. But until the law said, you are
sanctified as a driver, all that work meant nothing. Until the law came down and said,
you're set apart. I can know how to drive an ambulance,
but until that's set, the law comes down and says, now, imagine I'm an ambulance
driver. I've got a license to drive.
I've got a license to speed now. Only if I'm in that ambulance, we are sanctified in Christ Jesus. This center needs not only my
actions, my work, my things that I do to be justified. I need this heart, this nature,
this black, wicked, dead heart. I need it to be sanctified. How can this nature, this sin,
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, as He took our place in death, as
He has robed us 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 because of all of this, we
enjoy some great blessings. We have peace. Colossians 120,
having made peace where once there was enmity, having made
peace through the blood of his cross, we who were once are made
nigh, Ephesians 2, 13. Now, in Christ Jesus, ye who
sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. Turn back just a couple pages,
Hebrews 10. 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 come to enter into
the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which
he hath consecrated for us through the veil, that is to say this
flesh, and having an high priest over the house of God Let us
draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having
our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies
washed with pure water. By the blood of our Lord Jesus
Christ, there is peace between God and men. We who were far
off are made nigh. and we may have boldness to come
into the presence of the Most High God and make our petitions
known. Oh, may the Lord teach me to
pray. Is there any wonder left that
when Moses and Elias appeared and spoke with our Lord, they
spake of his decease, which he should accomplish? and someday,
quite soon, you read it earlier, will join the myriad of saints
before us and shall speak and sing of his accomplishments.
and they sung a new song, saying, thou art worthy to take the book
and to open the seals thereof, for thou was slain and has redeemed
us to God by thy blood out of every kindred and tongue and
people and nation. May the Lord be pleased, as we
part, as we go our separate ways, to enable us to remember