Gospel Meeting 25/01/2015

LEVITICUS 16 vs.1-10, 20-22. 17 vs.11, HEBREWS 9 vs.11-14, 10 vs.12-14, 17-18.

God chose the nation of Israel to be His people and He led them out of slavery in Egypt to the Promised Land. And we know the account so well as they passed through the wilderness.

God wanted to dwell with His people and He gave them very precise instructions on how to build a tabernacle or tent and His presence was there with them, but because God is Holy He set up a series of sacrifices so that the people could have their sin forgiven and offer their worship to God because their sin separated them from God.

I would like to speak about the Day of Atonement Yom Kippur as the Jews call it. Once a year the High Priest could go into the Holy of Holies, which was the inmost section of the Tabernacle which had the Ark of the Covenant and the Mercy seat above it. He first of all had to offer a sacrifice for his own sin and then for all the sins of the people. There is far too much detail to go into but I am fascinated by the two goats, one who was killed as a sacrifice and it’s blood was shed to pay the price for the sins of the people for an atonement/forgiveness.

Heb 9:22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. Then Aaron the High Priest had to lay his hands on the head of the second goat and confess all their transgressions and sins over it and then it was taken into the wilderness by a suitable man. This demonstrated that their guilt was taken away. The Day of Atonement was a very special day in the year of the Israelites.

In the same way today our sin separates us from God and condemns us to Eternal Judgement, by birth and by practice we are sinners, but God has reached out in love, grace and mercy to us.

Ephesians 2 vs.4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,

5  Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

6  And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

The two goats are an illustration of what Jesus Christ has done for us, His shed blood and sacrifice answered to God for our sin and took our guilt away as He was Holy without sin of His own to die for.

Before the priests could offer a sacrifice for the peoples sin they had to offer a sacrifice for their own sin, but not Christ the Lamb of God.

When He was crucified He was offering Himself to God as a sacrifice, God got all the punishment that was due to all people and poured it out on His Son and He bore it all and cried with a loud voice “It is finished.” Such is His love for you. 

Isaiah 52 vs.13  Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.

14  As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men:

Isaiah 53 vs.3  He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4 ¶  Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

5  But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

6  All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

As the second goat took away their sin into the wilderness never to be seen again is the idea. He takes away our sin once and for all He dealt with it totally, His perfect sacrifice means that His was a one off not continual sacrifices as in the Old Testament.

When He died the Veil in the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom giving us access into God’s presence at any time through prayer.

So long I had searched for life's meaning,
Enslaved by my guilt and my sin;
Then the door of the prison was opened by love,
For the ransom was paid - I was free.

Refrain
I'm free from the fear of tomorrow,
I'm free from the guilt of the past;
For I've traded my shackles for a glorious song,
I'm Free! Praise the Lord! Free at last!
I'm free from the guilt that I carried,
From that dull empty life I'm set free;
For when I met Jesus, He made me complete,
He forgot how foolish I used to be.

When we become a Christian many things happen to us;

The price for our sin is paid.

Our guilt is dealt with.

God sees us as righteous.

We are indwelt by the Spirit of God.

We are guaranteed everlasting life.

We will go to Heaven.

We have abundant life here and now.

We can’t earn it as we heard recently it is a free gift from God, we can’t get it our way we have to come God’s way.

Aaron's son’s tried to do it their way and ignore God’s instructions and they died. in the same way God’s way must be followed we cannot do it our way and expect God to bless us.

God’s way is that we must acknowledge that we are sinners, and truly be sorry for our sin and genuinely desire to turn away from that sin and serve God wholeheartedly, and putting our faith and trust in Jesus Christ. It’s not a ticket to Heaven it is life changing.

Cleanse me from my sin Lord,

Put Thy power within, Lord,

Take me as I am, Lord,

And make me all Thine own.

Keep me day by day, Lord,

Underneath Thy sway, Lord,

Make my heart Thy palace,

And Thy royal throne.

Redeemed, born again, saved. It is concrete, it is real, it makes a real difference in your life. It is all dependent on the one off sacrifice of Jesus. God punished His own Son for your sin, He didn't hold anything back, no mercy for His Son but forgiveness, love, grace and mercy for us through Him.

So come to God His way, and enjoy His blessings, His presence and His Salvation. When you receive His Salvation you are saved for Eternity but your Christian life will develop and grow, and you will become more like Him as the days and years pass by, until when we see Him we shall be like Him.

The one sacrifice of Jesus on the cross has done more than all those sacrifices of old did for the children of Israel.