A Better Sacrifice

Cal Jernigan • April 16, 2023

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Good morning everyone. So glad that you are here and I welcome you and Gilbert, I wanna welcome you in Queen Creek, in Mesa, in Tempe, in Glendale. And I wanna welcome you online, wherever you are. Uh, we are going to do church together today in a very, very special way, which I'll explain a little bit later. Uh, but man, it really matters that you're here. Okay? So here we go. We are number one. Woo, woo, woo. Woo woo woo. We're number one. What team would you do this for? Yeah. Okay, so I don't know what it, I don't know if you have a favorite. How many would do this for the Cardinals? I'm just curious. Here we go. Woo. How many of you would have a have a different football team you would do this for? Woo. We're no good dolphins. Whoa. H how many of you would do this for a baseball? Yeah. Okay. A basketball team. Yes. All, all right. Tenor Swift. We're number one. Who I, I don't know who, who, I don't know who and what that you would be, so get, so you'd become who you wanna be associated with, number ones, do you not? We're number one. We're number one. Hey, I wanna let you know Arizona, we're number one. We're close, we're close to number one. We're not actually number one. We're technically third, but, but it's three out of 50, so it's not so bad with we're number three. Woo. You know what we're number three at? You put all the states together and you have a contest to see who invests less. And their children's education in the public school system. No, that's not good. That's really bad. We're we're number three. And let me lemme say it to you this way, if you're, if you're not following, of all the states in the union, 50 states in the Union, Arizona is third from the bottom, we're number 48 in terms of our willingness to invest money in the education of our children. I don't know if you understand this, but your money goes where your values go. Your money follows your values. What you, what you think is important is what you invest your money in. I, I don't know why our government, I, I don't know why. We invest so little, but I, I'll tell you what, I can't fix that. But as pastor of this church, and again, I'm talking to all of our campuses and I'm talking to you online, it's time for us to step up and do something. So I am unashamedly asking, I'm calling you out, church, next Saturday morning, all across the valley, we're gonna, we're going to infiltrate schools and we're gonna invest our time and our money in schools. Here's what we're gonna. We're, we're gonna bless teachers and we're gonna bless administrators and we're gonna bless the children and we're gonna bless the facilities that have been neglected by the state, and we're gonna make a difference. So I need two things out of you. Unashamedly need two things outta you. Number one, I need your attendance next Saturday morning. So whatever campus you're, you get online and you go to the campus and it'll give you information as far as where and what schools. And I need you to invest money in. And I wanna say this, my wife and I have invested thousands of dollars in this. I am not asking you to do what we haven't done. I am saying this is serious and we need to fix this, and we need to make a difference in church. We're capable of making a difference if we're willing to make a difference. And unashamedly asking you, let's be willing to make a difference. It is not good to be number one at caring the least about our children. Can I get an amen from anybody who agrees with me? All right, very good. Okay, so here's what I need you to do. Get your Bible, open your Bible to the book of Hebrews. So I'm, I know I say this all the time. I'm telling you, you gotta bring a Bible. Uh, I, I, I think so often we think we won't need just pop up on the screen. I cannot do what I'm trying to do. If you don't have a Bible, it'll be harder for you. If you don't have a Bible, you will not regret bringing a Bible. So bring a Bible. So Hebrews, uh, chapter, uh, let's go to chapter nine in the book of Hebrews and just hold that right there. And, uh, just, just, we, we will be there in just a minute. So we're continuing today in a series that we started about two months ago. It's called something Better. And we're talking about Jesus because the book of Hebrews is all about Jesus. And the point of it is Jesus is better than anything that ever came before him. Now, here's the deal. The, the book of Hebrews is trying to explain that a new covenant, the new Testa, The new covenant established in Jesus is better than the old covenant established in, uh, the past under Moses. Okay, now you gotta like, what? What? It's not saying it was bad, it's saying it's built on it and it's better. So everything we've talked about in the eight weeks prior to this or whatever it's been is Jesus is better. These is the best revelation of God, better than any prophet as far as understanding who God is. He is better than angels. He, uh, he's the son revealed, not a servant. He's better than Moses, better leader than Moses. The rest he offers is better. The, the, he's better priest. He, he's, he offers a, a better covenant. And today what I want to do is I wanna talk about this. He, Jesus is a better sacrifice than anything ever offered in the old covenant. And that's what we need to understand. Now, here is the big idea that I'm gonna do, do, do my best to communicate today. This is what you need to understand. All right? You cannot understand the Bible and you cannot understand God without understanding the concept of s. So I wanna talk about sacrifice and I, I, I, I'm gonna do my best. Now here's a problem. We are American individualists. We don't like the idea of sacrifice, cuz sacrifice means you put something else above you. It's been, it's been said that that sacrifice is giving up something you love or surrendering something because you love something more. We have been taught to love ourselves. We are lovers of self in America. All right? And an I are. So, so when you talk about sacrifice, it means you're gonna make a decision that something's more valuable than you. And when I just asked you to sacrifice on behalf of school children, I'm saying, I know you love your money. We need to love our children more than we love our money. And it's the idea you're willing to surrender something of value for something that you deem of greater value. Let me say it again so we make sure we got it. You cannot understand the Bible and you cannot understand God without understanding the concept of sacrifice. Now, here's what you need to realize is the concept of sacrifice is crucial to the Bible. It began all the way in the Old Testament, and what God did in the Old Testament is he established a foundation upon which the New Testament will be. And you can't understand the New Testament without understanding the foundation upon which it was built. And, and so I I, I want to do something today and I just want to plead with you to indulge me with this. I I'm gonna do something I normally don't do. Do. So if you're a guest with us today, now we always preach the Bible, trust me. But I, I'm going to, I'm gonna fire hose you today with the Bible, okay? And just indulge me all right? I won't, it won't go long. It, it's not gonna be, I'm boring. It's not gonna be mono. But I'm gonna show you something all the way from the Old Testament to the New Testament. You cannot understand the book of Hebrews, and you certainly cannot understand where we are in the book of Hebrews, Hebrews nine, without understanding what, what the Old Testament was all about. So I'm gonna give you a tour. Uh, we're gonna do a Bible blitz. All right. And if you have a Bible, which I hope you do, I'm gonna have you turn to some scripture so you can follow now. Right now, if you have a Bible, you're in Hebrews chapter nine. Cause I've already asked you to turn there. Now I'm gonna ask you to go to the Book of Exodus and, and just hold the book of Exodus. Let me, lemme explain. You see the Bible begins with the book of Genesis, Genesis, Genesis, generation, the beginning. All right It, it's the Book of Beginnings, but immediately it's followed by the Book of Exodus. Exodus is about an exit. Let me explain. In our study so far, I've reminded you that what happened in the old covenant way back then was that the people of Israel, Went down to Egypt and then they were held slaves in Egypt. They were made, they were forced laborers in Egypt. And, and, and they were crying out to God because Pharaoh was so oppressive. The Egyptians were so oppressed, and they're crying out to God. God, get us outta here. Get us outta here. And, and God says, I hear you, and I'm gonna send you a rescuer. I'm gonna send you a redeemer. I'm gonna send you a savior. And so he sent Moses. Moses goes down and he's got one message for Phll. Let my people go. And he says that over and over. And Pharaoh says, no, no, no. And then finally Moses goes, then we're gonna, we we're gonna give you an incentive and what begins, or what call the, or what are called the 10 plagues, they get more and more severe as they go on the 10th plague is hugely sign. The 10th plague, the one that finally caused Pharaoh to re, re relent and release the, uh, Israelites, was what was called the plague of the death of the firstborn, the death of the firstborn. And, um, I, I want to explain that Moses did everything he could do to get Pharaoh not to go down this. But Pharaoh wouldn't relent and so Moses from God was sold by God. You tell the people to do this, you need to take a lamb, you take a goat, doesn't matter. You sacrifice that goat. You take the life of that goat and and with its blood. I want you to take the blood of the lamb and I want you to paint the doorposts of your house in the blood of the. A, and then something's gonna happen, and that blood of the lamb is gonna protect you from something. So let me just take you to the book of Exodus chapter 12, which again, if you have a Bible, just go there. All right, I'm gonna be Exodus chapter 12 verse five. This is what it says, the animals you choose must be a year. Must be your old males without defect, and, and you may take them from the sheer, the goats take care of them until the 14th day of the month. And then all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. They are then to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and the tops of the door frames of the houses where they eat the lambs. Why would they do that? Because what's coming? Let me keep her eating begining with verse 12. On that same night, I will pass through Egypt and I will strike down every first. Of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you. When I strike Egypt, we just celebrated Easter. We talk, we talk about, and Easter happened on the Passover. Folks, it has its roots all the way back in Exodus 12, the Passover, the death angel sees the blood of the lamb on the doorpost of that house. It passes over that it doesn't enter that house death is spared in that house cuz they're covered by the blood of the lamb. This is what Easter is all about, that we just celebrated and I need you to understand so. It wasn't free. The, the, the, the, the sacrifice that took place was the life of the lamb, the life of the goat, whatever, that, that was slain. But, but you were spared. This is what you gotta get. This is how it works, this life for that life. And, and, and God was willing to do this. Now, I, I, if you keep reading in the Book of Exodus, what you find is, is that finally Pharaoh just has had enough and he says, get. And he lets him go and that's the Red Sea. And then they get out and they wander around the wilderness. If you remember this, supposed to take 11 days, it took 40 years cuz they wouldn't follow God. And I've talked to you about that. But the, then finally, as they're wandering around out there, you know, they're finally gonna make it, but in the meantime, God tells them to do a couple of things and I just need to show you these things. So after the initial Passover experience, and, and that was the thing that broke Ferrell's back, he let him go and, and then they get out there and then God says, I want you to do something, lemme show you. All right. Um, he says, I want you to build. I want you to make something. I want you to take your hands and your creativity. I want you to create something, but I want you to create it very, very carefully. And what they're gonna create is a tent. A tent. It's gonna be called, not a tent, it's gonna be called a tabernacle. But, but what it's gonna be used for is that in, in the midst of their wandering around the wilderness, this tint is gonna be used as the place where God's gonna be in their midst. God's gonna dwell in the sanctuary of the tabernac. And, and whenever they move, they're gonna pack up the Tabernacle, the tent. But I wanna show you something that God said when they made this tent. All right, so this comes from Exodus 25, 8. Ha. Then have them make a sanctuary for me and I will dwell among them, make this tabernacle and all its furnishings. Exactly like the pattern I will show you. You're not just creating a tent, you're gonna make this tent and you're gonna organize it exactly as I tell you, cuz it's gonna represent something. You'll see that in just a moment. The second thing God told them to do is annually, every day on that same. That we celebrated that first Passover. We're gonna celebrate that Passover feast again and again, and again and again. And to this very day. That thing is celebrated to this very day now. Now, Jewish people, it's a big deal. All right? We ha have a different celebration built on the Passover. We call Easter. These are directly related, and I need you to understand this, okay? Now I'm gonna do, so I'm gonna take you into Leviticus, the third chapter of the third book of the Bible. The, actually, the 16th chapter of the book of Leviticus, uh, Leviticus, um, has to do with the priesthood and, and, and how you do things right before God. Levi, okay. So Leviticus, and, and you'll remember Aaron and, and the family of Levi, they're gonna be the priest. They're the only ones who get to be the priest. This is very important. You understand this. So let me show you Leviticus chapter 16. Again, we're blitzing, but we're going fast. Leviticus 16, three. This is how Aaron is to enter the most holy place. Now, understand we talking about the tent that there, there's two parts to the tent. There's the holy place and the most holy place. So this is how Aaron is to enter the most holy place. He must first bring a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. He is to put on the sacred linen tunic, uh, with the linen garments next to his body. He is to tie the linen sass around him and put on the linen turbine. These are sacred garments, so he must bathe themself with water before he puts them on from the Israelite community. He is to take two male goats for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. So, so, so you're gonna clean yourself up, you're gonna put these garments on, and you're gonna take these animals into that place. The most holy place Aaron is to offer, this is verse six, Aaron is to offer the. For his own sin offering to make atonement for himself and his household. He is a guilty sinner. He's coming into the presence of a Holy God. First thing he has to do is he has to take care of his own sin. So I'm gonna sacrifice this animal on behalf of myself and my household for the wrong we've done. All right, then he is to take the two goats and present them before the Lord. At the entrance to the tent of meeting, he is to cast lots for the two goats, one lot for the Lord, and one lot for the scapegoat. Aaron shall bring the goat whose lot falls to the Lord and sacrifice it. Uh, for a sin offering, but the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat will, shall be presented alive before the Lord to be used for making atonement by sending it into the wilderness as a scapegoat. You maybe always wondered where that came from. That's where that came from. But here's the idea. Yeah, Aaron. First you take care of your own sins, but then you're gonna take, you got two goats, you're gonna put your hands on the head and you're gonna cast the sin of the people onto the heads of the goats. One of those is gonna be slaughtered, one's gonna be sin out into the wilderness. One's gonna represent the, the sacrifice of, of this life. For that, the other one's gonna represent. The idea of these sins are gone. They're carried away. They're taken out. All right, so you do that. If you jump down to verse 20, it says, when Aaron has finished making atonement for the most holy place, the tender meeting and the altar, he shall bring forward the live goat. He has to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites, all their sins and put them on the goat's head. He shall then sin the God away into the wilderness and the care of someone appointed for the task. The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a remote place, and the man shall. In the wilderness, your sins will be carried away, never to be seen again. So we're gonna slaughter one of the goats. We're gonna place the sins O of the people on that goat, and we're gonna place the sins on the head of the other goat and we're gonna send 'em out. And it has to be the priest who does this in the most holy place. All right now. Let's jump over to the New Testament. Let's, okay, stay with me. I'm telling you, this is fa. You connect these dots. This story will always stick with you. I wanna take you to the New Testament. I don't wanna take you to the beginning of the New Testament. Luke chapter one, we're introduced to a character named John the Baptist. John the Baptist. You might not know much about John the Baptist, but the thing you need to understand about John the Baptist. John the Baptist, was a. Most people don't know that. Let me show you Luke chapter one, verse five, in the time of Herod, king of Judah, what? Herod right. This is the Herod in the birth of the story of Jesus. This is the Herod who had all the babies killed in Bethlehem in the time of Herod, king of Judah. It's the exact same time. All right? There was a priest named Zacharia who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah. His wife Elizabeth, was also a descendant of Aaron. Zacharia, Elizabeth. They have a child. His name is John. He is in the lineage of Aaron. He is Levi. He is a priest. Now I wanna show you something. If I jump over to Matthew chapter three, as the story continues, we read this, then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him saying, I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me? And Jesus replied, let it be now for it is proper for us to do this. To fulfill all righteousness. Then John consented. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment, heaven was open and he saw the spirit of God descending like a dove and a lighting on him and a voice from heaven said, this is my son, whom I love. With him, I am well pleased. Let me put it to you in different terms. This is my firstborn son. This is my one and only. I want to ask you just a simple, simple question. Is there any way possible that John could have baptized Jesus without putting his hands on Jesus? The answer is no. It doesn't go into any detail, but here you got a priest laying his hands on Jesus and he's gonna baptize him, and he does. And as soon as he baptizes him, this voice comes from heaven. This is my son. All right. Can I tell you what happens the very next day, uh, John 1 29 says, the next day, John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, look, the lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, he put his hands on him. He's gonna sacrifice. He's gonna take his life, but he's also gonna carry away. It's gonna be the scape. Let's go to Hebrews chapter nine. This is where we started, and let's just get in right here. Hebrews chapter nine. Let's begin reading with verse 11. And again, I'm going as fast as I can go without going so fast. You go, I have no idea what he's saying. I, I wanna show you this. All right. Now you're gonna be able to understand some stuff in Hebrews chapter nine. Begin with verse 11. But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands. That is a not a part of this creation. What new and greater tabernacle that will one, not that one, not the one made, but by human hands. That was a likeness of something that God said, I want you to make it like. That was made after a pattern of a place called Heaven. And Jesus didn't enter into that tabernacle, but he entered into that tabernacle. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves like they did in that tabernacle. All right? Uh, but he entered the most holy place. In the heaven of heavens, the most holy place, once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkle on those who are ceremonially unclean, sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. Amen. How much more then will the blood of Christ who through the eternal spirit, offered himself unblemished to God? Cleanse our conscience from acts that lead to death so that we may serve the living God? For this reason, Christ is the mediator of a new covenant. That those who are called and they receive the promised eternal inheritance and, and now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant. Do you understand what we're doing here? They were killed captive in, in Egypt, a deliverer, a savior came, a redeemer we're held captive in sin, and God sends a rescuer, a deliverer, a redeem. A savior, there's a price that's gotta be paid to get you out. So something's gonna get slain, so you can be spared, but it's a pattern. If you go to Hebrews chapter 10, this the next chapter over. I want you to read this. 11 and 14. Sat down to 14 day after. Every priest over here stands and performs his religious duties again and again. He offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. And since that time, he waits for his enemies to be made his foot stool for by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever. Those who are being made holy. So this priest has to go through this process over and over and over again all the time because we keep sinning constantly going through the process. This priest, once for all, once for all in, in Hebrews nine 15, it says this, for this reason, Christ is the mediator of a new covenant. Not this, it's something new. New covenant that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance. Something forever God wants to give you now that he, now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant. Jesus died to set you free to release you from that which held. In fact, uh, or, or in Hebrews 9 22, it says, in fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood and catch this line. And without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. Now here, here's our problem with this. Uh, let's just call it out. We go, that's weird. That's just weird. It makes no sense to us. Why, why, God, why does the deal with the blood, why is it all about blood? I mean, I don't personally like blood. I don't like seeing blood. I don't want to be a p. I'm not cut out for that. I, I don't, I'm, I'm not drawn to blood. Blood. Uh, here, here's the, here's the thing though. See, here's what they know. That, that we have a hard time realizing. Uh, if, if you grew up in that culture, blood was all around you. It was unavoidable. But here's what they all knew. Your life is in your blood. Your blood is your life. You, you see, you, you can live without a lot of things, but you can't live without your blood. Your blood is the mechanism of life. So when you're gonna take the life of something, you have to take it out of its blood. And I know that that's when, that's just weird to us. In fact, let me read what one commentator said. Uh, this guy John Phillips said, Many look with revulsion on the shedding of blood that forms such an essential feature of the Old Testament religion they consider with equal horror. The New Testaments teach in concerning Christ's blood. They shutter with abor abhorrent at many of the gospel hymns that emphasize the efficacy of the blood of Christ and those who thus scorn the shed blood have their eyes blinded both to God's blazing ho. And to the dreadful nature of sin. Sin is a radical and terrible reality that calls for a radical and terrible cure. Here's our problem. It's our problem's, not with the blood. Our problem is we don't want to call sin sin. We just think we can get away with anything. And folks, we do think we can get away with any. We don't think there's ever gonna be a day of reckoning, a day of atoning, a day of accountability that's gonna come before us, where we're gonna stand before God, an answer for the things that we've. We just think we're getting a pass on all this stuff that we're doing, and I'm here to tell you as a pastor, not according to the word of God, there will be a day of judgment and, and there will be a day of reckoning coming. Hebrews 9 23. You can follow me. It was necessary then for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices. But the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these, for Christ, did not enter a sanctuary and made with human hands. It was only a copy of the true one. He entered heaven itself now to a appear for us in God's presence. Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again. The way the high priest enters the most holy. Every year with blood that is not his own, the goat, the, the, the bull. Otherwise, Christ would've had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself, just as people are destined to die once and after that two-face judgment. So Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of. And he will appear a second time not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. Jesus is this perfect sacrifice, unblemished lamb of God. This is not just spoken up in the book of Hebrews, by the way in, in first Peter one 18 it says For you, no. It was not with perishable. Things such as silver were gold, as worthless as those are that you were redeemed from the empty way of life, handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times. For your sake. Let me say it again. You cannot understand the Bible and you cannot understand God without understanding the concept of sacrifice. Let me wrap it up. Lemme wrap it up here. Here's what's the point. Here's the point. If you lived in these days, every time you sinned, you had to sacrifice another animal. It was just an ongoing process. It would be you're clean symbolically, your sin was rolled back while the animal will sacrifice, but, but as soon as you sin again, you're guilty again. You gotta go to the same process. These priests are doing this over and over and over and over and over, and once a year, once a year. On the Day of Atonement, there's a grand and glorious forgiveness service with all the sins that you committed this year. Until tomorrow when you start the calendar over and you gotta wait another year. That's not the way it is for us. We, we have a sacrifice that was once for all and, and, and, and that one sacrifice is, is efficient and effective for every one of us, for every day of our lives. It's, it's, it's like the difference between having to, to have, uh, be put on a dialysis machine every day. You gotta deal with the cleansing of the. Or you can get a new kidney and it'll be covered for you. That's what this is about. And, uh, I, I want to end this message by just simply asking you, you wanna be forgiven? Do you wanna be forgiven? You wanna have the assurance that you're forgiven. You want to know that you're right with God as far as the east is from the west. Do you wanna have your sins taken away from you? You know what Hebrews 10, 17 and 18 says. They're sins and lawless acts. I will remember no more and where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin. Why is there no sacrifice for sin? Because there's no sin to sacrifice for. It was carried away, ones and for all. Wow. How did you do that? God, through the blood of the. Through the blood of the lamb, there's an old hymn. WA can wash away my sin. Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh, precious is the flow that makes me whitest. Know no other foun. I know nothing but the blood of Jesus. For my part in this, I see nothing but the blood of Jesus for my cleansing. This, my plea, nothing but the blood of Jesus. Nothing can for sinone, nothing but the blood of Jesus. Not of good that I have done nothing but the blood of Jesus. This is all my hope and peace, nothing but the blood of Jesus. This is all my righteousness, nothing but the blood of Jesus now. Now, by this, I'll overcome nothing but the blood of Jesus. Now, by this, I'll reach my home, nothing but the blood of Jesus. Glory. Glory. This. I sing nothing but the blood of Jesus. All my praise for this. I bring nothing but the blood of Jesus. You know what, you need nothing but the blood of Jesus. That's all you need. To be forgiven. Nothing but the blood good works. Prayers, baptism, communion, church attendance. None of that is gonna save you nothing but the blood of Jesus. Woo. Yeah. Woo. So here, so here is my plea church, and I mean church here, and I mean church there, and I mean church there. You wanna have your sins forgiven. You wanna have your conscientious. You wanna have the knowledge that it's been dealt with, that, that your sins, you, you were spared because he was slain, that God loved you so much, he was willing to sacrifice for you. First Peter three, he's the last verse I'm gonna read. And this water symbolizes baptism That now saves you also not the removal of dirt from the body, but the pledge of a clear conscience towards God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand with angel's. Authorities, powers submission to him. God has exalted the sacrificial lamb and he's in heaven, literally. On your behalf awaiting your arrival. Now what? How do we jump into baptism? Remember what Easter is about? On the night of the Passover, Jesus did the last supper. Remember this? Remember in preparation for the Passover, and then they crucified him and they buried him. And then he rose again on the Passover. The lamb was sacrificed. You know what baptism is? It's your saying. I'm with him, I'm in him, that his blood, I'm claiming. That what he did, he did, and I receive on my behalf his sacrifice. The, the blood of the land that was slain on the cross in calvary is the blood that wash you pure. And, and, and what am I supposed to be covered in blood? No, no, no, no. Co co baptism. Baptism is your identifying it is when you say, I wanna be in him, count me in him. And when you go down into that water, you stand in that water, you're going, I'm guilty. God, I get it. I'm, I'm guilty, but just as you were buried, I will be buried. And as you rose from the dead, I cuz he took your sins on him and they killed him, but he was a sacrificial lamb and he came back and you will live. And this internal, uh, uh, eternal inheritance. What's that? This is this thing called salvation. It's eternity is what we talked about last week on the other side of that second date on your tombstone that you were made for. But here's the deal, and I, and I'm, and I'm done. Here's the deal. This doesn't happen without you saying yes. God doesn't just break into your house and take over and go, I know you don't want this, but I'm doing it anyway. No, no, no. You, you have to take the blood. Of the lamb and put it on your doorpost and say, not on this house. Death angel, not this house. Good God, just put the blood on the, no, he, he could've, but he didn't. He said, you take the blood and you put it on your doorpost. So church, I'm calling you out. Take the blood of the lamb, put it on your life and identify yourself in Jesus. I am in him.

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Good morning everyone. So glad that you are here and I welcome you and Gilbert, I wanna welcome you in Queen Creek, in Mesa, in Tempe, in Glendale. And I wanna welcome you online, wherever you are. Uh, we are going to do church together today in a very, very special way, which I'll explain a little bit later. Uh, but man, it really matters that you're here. Okay? So here we go. We are number one. Woo, woo, woo. Woo woo woo. We're number one. What team would you do this for? Yeah. Okay, so I don't know what it, I don't know if you have a favorite. How many would do this for the Cardinals? I'm just curious. Here we go. Woo. How many of you would have a have a different football team you would do this for? Woo. We're no good dolphins. Whoa. H how many of you would do this for a baseball? Yeah. Okay. A basketball team. Yes. All, all right. Tenor Swift. We're number one. Who I, I don't know who, who, I don't know who and what that you would be, so get, so you'd become who you wanna be associated with, number ones, do you not? We're number one. We're number one. Hey, I wanna let you know Arizona, we're number one. We're close, we're close to number one. We're not actually number one. We're technically third, but, but it's three out of 50, so it's not so bad with we're number three. Woo. You know what we're number three at? You put all the states together and you have a contest to see who invests less. And their children's education in the public school system. No, that's not good. That's really bad. We're we're number three. And let me lemme say it to you this way, if you're, if you're not following, of all the states in the union, 50 states in the Union, Arizona is third from the bottom, we're number 48 in terms of our willingness to invest money in the education of our children. I don't know if you understand this, but your money goes where your values go. Your money follows your values. What you, what you think is important is what you invest your money in. I, I don't know why our government, I, I don't know why. We invest so little, but I, I'll tell you what, I can't fix that. But as pastor of this church, and again, I'm talking to all of our campuses and I'm talking to you online, it's time for us to step up and do something. So I am unashamedly asking, I'm calling you out, church, next Saturday morning, all across the valley, we're gonna, we're going to infiltrate schools and we're gonna invest our time and our money in schools. Here's what we're gonna. We're, we're gonna bless teachers and we're gonna bless administrators and we're gonna bless the children and we're gonna bless the facilities that have been neglected by the state, and we're gonna make a difference. So I need two things out of you. Unashamedly need two things outta you. Number one, I need your attendance next Saturday morning. So whatever campus you're, you get online and you go to the campus and it'll give you information as far as where and what schools. And I need you to invest money in. And I wanna say this, my wife and I have invested thousands of dollars in this. I am not asking you to do what we haven't done. I am saying this is serious and we need to fix this, and we need to make a difference in church. We're capable of making a difference if we're willing to make a difference. And unashamedly asking you, let's be willing to make a difference. It is not good to be number one at caring the least about our children. Can I get an amen from anybody who agrees with me? All right, very good. Okay, so here's what I need you to do. Get your Bible, open your Bible to the book of Hebrews. So I'm, I know I say this all the time. I'm telling you, you gotta bring a Bible. Uh, I, I, I think so often we think we won't need just pop up on the screen. I cannot do what I'm trying to do. If you don't have a Bible, it'll be harder for you. If you don't have a Bible, you will not regret bringing a Bible. So bring a Bible. So Hebrews, uh, chapter, uh, let's go to chapter nine in the book of Hebrews and just hold that right there. And, uh, just, just, we, we will be there in just a minute. So we're continuing today in a series that we started about two months ago. It's called something Better. And we're talking about Jesus because the book of Hebrews is all about Jesus. And the point of it is Jesus is better than anything that ever came before him. Now, here's the deal. The, the book of Hebrews is trying to explain that a new covenant, the new Testa, The new covenant established in Jesus is better than the old covenant established in, uh, the past under Moses. Okay, now you gotta like, what? What? It's not saying it was bad, it's saying it's built on it and it's better. So everything we've talked about in the eight weeks prior to this or whatever it's been is Jesus is better. These is the best revelation of God, better than any prophet as far as understanding who God is. He is better than angels. He, uh, he's the son revealed, not a servant. He's better than Moses, better leader than Moses. The rest he offers is better. The, the, he's better priest. He, he's, he offers a, a better covenant. And today what I want to do is I wanna talk about this. He, Jesus is a better sacrifice than anything ever offered in the old covenant. And that's what we need to understand. Now, here is the big idea that I'm gonna do, do, do my best to communicate today. This is what you need to understand. All right? You cannot understand the Bible and you cannot understand God without understanding the concept of s. So I wanna talk about sacrifice and I, I, I, I'm gonna do my best. Now here's a problem. We are American individualists. We don't like the idea of sacrifice, cuz sacrifice means you put something else above you. It's been, it's been said that that sacrifice is giving up something you love or surrendering something because you love something more. We have been taught to love ourselves. We are lovers of self in America. All right? And an I are. So, so when you talk about sacrifice, it means you're gonna make a decision that something's more valuable than you. And when I just asked you to sacrifice on behalf of school children, I'm saying, I know you love your money. We need to love our children more than we love our money. And it's the idea you're willing to surrender something of value for something that you deem of greater value. Let me say it again so we make sure we got it. You cannot understand the Bible and you cannot understand God without understanding the concept of sacrifice. Now, here's what you need to realize is the concept of sacrifice is crucial to the Bible. It began all the way in the Old Testament, and what God did in the Old Testament is he established a foundation upon which the New Testament will be. And you can't understand the New Testament without understanding the foundation upon which it was built. And, and so I I, I want to do something today and I just want to plead with you to indulge me with this. I I'm gonna do something I normally don't do. Do. So if you're a guest with us today, now we always preach the Bible, trust me. But I, I'm going to, I'm gonna fire hose you today with the Bible, okay? And just indulge me all right? I won't, it won't go long. It, it's not gonna be, I'm boring. It's not gonna be mono. But I'm gonna show you something all the way from the Old Testament to the New Testament. You cannot understand the book of Hebrews, and you certainly cannot understand where we are in the book of Hebrews, Hebrews nine, without understanding what, what the Old Testament was all about. So I'm gonna give you a tour. Uh, we're gonna do a Bible blitz. All right. And if you have a Bible, which I hope you do, I'm gonna have you turn to some scripture so you can follow now. Right now, if you have a Bible, you're in Hebrews chapter nine. Cause I've already asked you to turn there. Now I'm gonna ask you to go to the Book of Exodus and, and just hold the book of Exodus. Let me, lemme explain. You see the Bible begins with the book of Genesis, Genesis, Genesis, generation, the beginning. All right It, it's the Book of Beginnings, but immediately it's followed by the Book of Exodus. Exodus is about an exit. Let me explain. In our study so far, I've reminded you that what happened in the old covenant way back then was that the people of Israel, Went down to Egypt and then they were held slaves in Egypt. They were made, they were forced laborers in Egypt. And, and, and they were crying out to God because Pharaoh was so oppressive. The Egyptians were so oppressed, and they're crying out to God. God, get us outta here. Get us outta here. And, and God says, I hear you, and I'm gonna send you a rescuer. I'm gonna send you a redeemer. I'm gonna send you a savior. And so he sent Moses. Moses goes down and he's got one message for Phll. Let my people go. And he says that over and over. And Pharaoh says, no, no, no. And then finally Moses goes, then we're gonna, we we're gonna give you an incentive and what begins, or what call the, or what are called the 10 plagues, they get more and more severe as they go on the 10th plague is hugely sign. The 10th plague, the one that finally caused Pharaoh to re, re relent and release the, uh, Israelites, was what was called the plague of the death of the firstborn, the death of the firstborn. And, um, I, I want to explain that Moses did everything he could do to get Pharaoh not to go down this. But Pharaoh wouldn't relent and so Moses from God was sold by God. You tell the people to do this, you need to take a lamb, you take a goat, doesn't matter. You sacrifice that goat. You take the life of that goat and and with its blood. I want you to take the blood of the lamb and I want you to paint the doorposts of your house in the blood of the. A, and then something's gonna happen, and that blood of the lamb is gonna protect you from something. So let me just take you to the book of Exodus chapter 12, which again, if you have a Bible, just go there. All right, I'm gonna be Exodus chapter 12 verse five. This is what it says, the animals you choose must be a year. Must be your old males without defect, and, and you may take them from the sheer, the goats take care of them until the 14th day of the month. And then all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. They are then to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and the tops of the door frames of the houses where they eat the lambs. Why would they do that? Because what's coming? Let me keep her eating begining with verse 12. On that same night, I will pass through Egypt and I will strike down every first. Of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you. When I strike Egypt, we just celebrated Easter. We talk, we talk about, and Easter happened on the Passover. Folks, it has its roots all the way back in Exodus 12, the Passover, the death angel sees the blood of the lamb on the doorpost of that house. It passes over that it doesn't enter that house death is spared in that house cuz they're covered by the blood of the lamb. This is what Easter is all about, that we just celebrated and I need you to understand so. It wasn't free. The, the, the, the, the sacrifice that took place was the life of the lamb, the life of the goat, whatever, that, that was slain. But, but you were spared. This is what you gotta get. This is how it works, this life for that life. And, and, and God was willing to do this. Now, I, I, if you keep reading in the Book of Exodus, what you find is, is that finally Pharaoh just has had enough and he says, get. And he lets him go and that's the Red Sea. And then they get out and they wander around the wilderness. If you remember this, supposed to take 11 days, it took 40 years cuz they wouldn't follow God. And I've talked to you about that. But the, then finally, as they're wandering around out there, you know, they're finally gonna make it, but in the meantime, God tells them to do a couple of things and I just need to show you these things. So after the initial Passover experience, and, and that was the thing that broke Ferrell's back, he let him go and, and then they get out there and then God says, I want you to do something, lemme show you. All right. Um, he says, I want you to build. I want you to make something. I want you to take your hands and your creativity. I want you to create something, but I want you to create it very, very carefully. And what they're gonna create is a tent. A tent. It's gonna be called, not a tent, it's gonna be called a tabernacle. But, but what it's gonna be used for is that in, in the midst of their wandering around the wilderness, this tint is gonna be used as the place where God's gonna be in their midst. God's gonna dwell in the sanctuary of the tabernac. And, and whenever they move, they're gonna pack up the Tabernacle, the tent. But I wanna show you something that God said when they made this tent. All right, so this comes from Exodus 25, 8. Ha. Then have them make a sanctuary for me and I will dwell among them, make this tabernacle and all its furnishings. Exactly like the pattern I will show you. You're not just creating a tent, you're gonna make this tent and you're gonna organize it exactly as I tell you, cuz it's gonna represent something. You'll see that in just a moment. The second thing God told them to do is annually, every day on that same. That we celebrated that first Passover. We're gonna celebrate that Passover feast again and again, and again and again. And to this very day. That thing is celebrated to this very day now. Now, Jewish people, it's a big deal. All right? We ha have a different celebration built on the Passover. We call Easter. These are directly related, and I need you to understand this, okay? Now I'm gonna do, so I'm gonna take you into Leviticus, the third chapter of the third book of the Bible. The, actually, the 16th chapter of the book of Leviticus, uh, Leviticus, um, has to do with the priesthood and, and, and how you do things right before God. Levi, okay. So Leviticus, and, and you'll remember Aaron and, and the family of Levi, they're gonna be the priest. They're the only ones who get to be the priest. This is very important. You understand this. So let me show you Leviticus chapter 16. Again, we're blitzing, but we're going fast. Leviticus 16, three. This is how Aaron is to enter the most holy place. Now, understand we talking about the tent that there, there's two parts to the tent. There's the holy place and the most holy place. So this is how Aaron is to enter the most holy place. He must first bring a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. He is to put on the sacred linen tunic, uh, with the linen garments next to his body. He is to tie the linen sass around him and put on the linen turbine. These are sacred garments, so he must bathe themself with water before he puts them on from the Israelite community. He is to take two male goats for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. So, so, so you're gonna clean yourself up, you're gonna put these garments on, and you're gonna take these animals into that place. The most holy place Aaron is to offer, this is verse six, Aaron is to offer the. For his own sin offering to make atonement for himself and his household. He is a guilty sinner. He's coming into the presence of a Holy God. First thing he has to do is he has to take care of his own sin. So I'm gonna sacrifice this animal on behalf of myself and my household for the wrong we've done. All right, then he is to take the two goats and present them before the Lord. At the entrance to the tent of meeting, he is to cast lots for the two goats, one lot for the Lord, and one lot for the scapegoat. Aaron shall bring the goat whose lot falls to the Lord and sacrifice it. Uh, for a sin offering, but the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat will, shall be presented alive before the Lord to be used for making atonement by sending it into the wilderness as a scapegoat. You maybe always wondered where that came from. That's where that came from. But here's the idea. Yeah, Aaron. First you take care of your own sins, but then you're gonna take, you got two goats, you're gonna put your hands on the head and you're gonna cast the sin of the people onto the heads of the goats. One of those is gonna be slaughtered, one's gonna be sin out into the wilderness. One's gonna represent the, the sacrifice of, of this life. For that, the other one's gonna represent. The idea of these sins are gone. They're carried away. They're taken out. All right, so you do that. If you jump down to verse 20, it says, when Aaron has finished making atonement for the most holy place, the tender meeting and the altar, he shall bring forward the live goat. He has to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites, all their sins and put them on the goat's head. He shall then sin the God away into the wilderness and the care of someone appointed for the task. The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a remote place, and the man shall. In the wilderness, your sins will be carried away, never to be seen again. So we're gonna slaughter one of the goats. We're gonna place the sins O of the people on that goat, and we're gonna place the sins on the head of the other goat and we're gonna send 'em out. And it has to be the priest who does this in the most holy place. All right now. Let's jump over to the New Testament. Let's, okay, stay with me. I'm telling you, this is fa. You connect these dots. This story will always stick with you. I wanna take you to the New Testament. I don't wanna take you to the beginning of the New Testament. Luke chapter one, we're introduced to a character named John the Baptist. John the Baptist. You might not know much about John the Baptist, but the thing you need to understand about John the Baptist. John the Baptist, was a. Most people don't know that. Let me show you Luke chapter one, verse five, in the time of Herod, king of Judah, what? Herod right. This is the Herod in the birth of the story of Jesus. This is the Herod who had all the babies killed in Bethlehem in the time of Herod, king of Judah. It's the exact same time. All right? There was a priest named Zacharia who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah. His wife Elizabeth, was also a descendant of Aaron. Zacharia, Elizabeth. They have a child. His name is John. He is in the lineage of Aaron. He is Levi. He is a priest. Now I wanna show you something. If I jump over to Matthew chapter three, as the story continues, we read this, then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him saying, I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me? And Jesus replied, let it be now for it is proper for us to do this. To fulfill all righteousness. Then John consented. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment, heaven was open and he saw the spirit of God descending like a dove and a lighting on him and a voice from heaven said, this is my son, whom I love. With him, I am well pleased. Let me put it to you in different terms. This is my firstborn son. This is my one and only. I want to ask you just a simple, simple question. Is there any way possible that John could have baptized Jesus without putting his hands on Jesus? The answer is no. It doesn't go into any detail, but here you got a priest laying his hands on Jesus and he's gonna baptize him, and he does. And as soon as he baptizes him, this voice comes from heaven. This is my son. All right. Can I tell you what happens the very next day, uh, John 1 29 says, the next day, John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, look, the lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, he put his hands on him. He's gonna sacrifice. He's gonna take his life, but he's also gonna carry away. It's gonna be the scape. Let's go to Hebrews chapter nine. This is where we started, and let's just get in right here. Hebrews chapter nine. Let's begin reading with verse 11. And again, I'm going as fast as I can go without going so fast. You go, I have no idea what he's saying. I, I wanna show you this. All right. Now you're gonna be able to understand some stuff in Hebrews chapter nine. Begin with verse 11. But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands. That is a not a part of this creation. What new and greater tabernacle that will one, not that one, not the one made, but by human hands. That was a likeness of something that God said, I want you to make it like. That was made after a pattern of a place called Heaven. And Jesus didn't enter into that tabernacle, but he entered into that tabernacle. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves like they did in that tabernacle. All right? Uh, but he entered the most holy place. In the heaven of heavens, the most holy place, once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkle on those who are ceremonially unclean, sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. Amen. How much more then will the blood of Christ who through the eternal spirit, offered himself unblemished to God? Cleanse our conscience from acts that lead to death so that we may serve the living God? For this reason, Christ is the mediator of a new covenant. That those who are called and they receive the promised eternal inheritance and, and now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant. Do you understand what we're doing here? They were killed captive in, in Egypt, a deliverer, a savior came, a redeemer we're held captive in sin, and God sends a rescuer, a deliverer, a redeem. A savior, there's a price that's gotta be paid to get you out. So something's gonna get slain, so you can be spared, but it's a pattern. If you go to Hebrews chapter 10, this the next chapter over. I want you to read this. 11 and 14. Sat down to 14 day after. Every priest over here stands and performs his religious duties again and again. He offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. And since that time, he waits for his enemies to be made his foot stool for by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever. Those who are being made holy. So this priest has to go through this process over and over and over again all the time because we keep sinning constantly going through the process. This priest, once for all, once for all in, in Hebrews nine 15, it says this, for this reason, Christ is the mediator of a new covenant. Not this, it's something new. New covenant that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance. Something forever God wants to give you now that he, now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant. Jesus died to set you free to release you from that which held. In fact, uh, or, or in Hebrews 9 22, it says, in fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood and catch this line. And without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. Now here, here's our problem with this. Uh, let's just call it out. We go, that's weird. That's just weird. It makes no sense to us. Why, why, God, why does the deal with the blood, why is it all about blood? I mean, I don't personally like blood. I don't like seeing blood. I don't want to be a p. I'm not cut out for that. I, I don't, I'm, I'm not drawn to blood. Blood. Uh, here, here's the, here's the thing though. See, here's what they know. That, that we have a hard time realizing. Uh, if, if you grew up in that culture, blood was all around you. It was unavoidable. But here's what they all knew. Your life is in your blood. Your blood is your life. You, you see, you, you can live without a lot of things, but you can't live without your blood. Your blood is the mechanism of life. So when you're gonna take the life of something, you have to take it out of its blood. And I know that that's when, that's just weird to us. In fact, let me read what one commentator said. Uh, this guy John Phillips said, Many look with revulsion on the shedding of blood that forms such an essential feature of the Old Testament religion they consider with equal horror. The New Testaments teach in concerning Christ's blood. They shutter with abor abhorrent at many of the gospel hymns that emphasize the efficacy of the blood of Christ and those who thus scorn the shed blood have their eyes blinded both to God's blazing ho. And to the dreadful nature of sin. Sin is a radical and terrible reality that calls for a radical and terrible cure. Here's our problem. It's our problem's, not with the blood. Our problem is we don't want to call sin sin. We just think we can get away with anything. And folks, we do think we can get away with any. We don't think there's ever gonna be a day of reckoning, a day of atoning, a day of accountability that's gonna come before us, where we're gonna stand before God, an answer for the things that we've. We just think we're getting a pass on all this stuff that we're doing, and I'm here to tell you as a pastor, not according to the word of God, there will be a day of judgment and, and there will be a day of reckoning coming. Hebrews 9 23. You can follow me. It was necessary then for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices. But the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these, for Christ, did not enter a sanctuary and made with human hands. It was only a copy of the true one. He entered heaven itself now to a appear for us in God's presence. Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again. The way the high priest enters the most holy. Every year with blood that is not his own, the goat, the, the, the bull. Otherwise, Christ would've had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself, just as people are destined to die once and after that two-face judgment. So Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of. And he will appear a second time not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. Jesus is this perfect sacrifice, unblemished lamb of God. This is not just spoken up in the book of Hebrews, by the way in, in first Peter one 18 it says For you, no. It was not with perishable. Things such as silver were gold, as worthless as those are that you were redeemed from the empty way of life, handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times. For your sake. Let me say it again. You cannot understand the Bible and you cannot understand God without understanding the concept of sacrifice. Let me wrap it up. Lemme wrap it up here. Here's what's the point. Here's the point. If you lived in these days, every time you sinned, you had to sacrifice another animal. It was just an ongoing process. It would be you're clean symbolically, your sin was rolled back while the animal will sacrifice, but, but as soon as you sin again, you're guilty again. You gotta go to the same process. These priests are doing this over and over and over and over and over, and once a year, once a year. On the Day of Atonement, there's a grand and glorious forgiveness service with all the sins that you committed this year. Until tomorrow when you start the calendar over and you gotta wait another year. That's not the way it is for us. We, we have a sacrifice that was once for all and, and, and, and that one sacrifice is, is efficient and effective for every one of us, for every day of our lives. It's, it's, it's like the difference between having to, to have, uh, be put on a dialysis machine every day. You gotta deal with the cleansing of the. Or you can get a new kidney and it'll be covered for you. That's what this is about. And, uh, I, I want to end this message by just simply asking you, you wanna be forgiven? Do you wanna be forgiven? You wanna have the assurance that you're forgiven. You want to know that you're right with God as far as the east is from the west. Do you wanna have your sins taken away from you? You know what Hebrews 10, 17 and 18 says. They're sins and lawless acts. I will remember no more and where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin. Why is there no sacrifice for sin? Because there's no sin to sacrifice for. It was carried away, ones and for all. Wow. How did you do that? God, through the blood of the. Through the blood of the lamb, there's an old hymn. WA can wash away my sin. Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh, precious is the flow that makes me whitest. Know no other foun. I know nothing but the blood of Jesus. For my part in this, I see nothing but the blood of Jesus for my cleansing. This, my plea, nothing but the blood of Jesus. Nothing can for sinone, nothing but the blood of Jesus. Not of good that I have done nothing but the blood of Jesus. This is all my hope and peace, nothing but the blood of Jesus. This is all my righteousness, nothing but the blood of Jesus now. Now, by this, I'll overcome nothing but the blood of Jesus. Now, by this, I'll reach my home, nothing but the blood of Jesus. Glory. Glory. This. I sing nothing but the blood of Jesus. All my praise for this. I bring nothing but the blood of Jesus. You know what, you need nothing but the blood of Jesus. That's all you need. To be forgiven. Nothing but the blood good works. Prayers, baptism, communion, church attendance. None of that is gonna save you nothing but the blood of Jesus. Woo. Yeah. Woo. So here, so here is my plea church, and I mean church here, and I mean church there, and I mean church there. You wanna have your sins forgiven. You wanna have your conscientious. You wanna have the knowledge that it's been dealt with, that, that your sins, you, you were spared because he was slain, that God loved you so much, he was willing to sacrifice for you. First Peter three, he's the last verse I'm gonna read. And this water symbolizes baptism That now saves you also not the removal of dirt from the body, but the pledge of a clear conscience towards God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand with angel's. Authorities, powers submission to him. God has exalted the sacrificial lamb and he's in heaven, literally. On your behalf awaiting your arrival. Now what? How do we jump into baptism? Remember what Easter is about? On the night of the Passover, Jesus did the last supper. Remember this? Remember in preparation for the Passover, and then they crucified him and they buried him. And then he rose again on the Passover. The lamb was sacrificed. You know what baptism is? It's your saying. I'm with him, I'm in him, that his blood, I'm claiming. That what he did, he did, and I receive on my behalf his sacrifice. The, the blood of the land that was slain on the cross in calvary is the blood that wash you pure. And, and, and what am I supposed to be covered in blood? No, no, no, no. Co co baptism. Baptism is your identifying it is when you say, I wanna be in him, count me in him. And when you go down into that water, you stand in that water, you're going, I'm guilty. God, I get it. I'm, I'm guilty, but just as you were buried, I will be buried. And as you rose from the dead, I cuz he took your sins on him and they killed him, but he was a sacrificial lamb and he came back and you will live. And this internal, uh, uh, eternal inheritance. What's that? This is this thing called salvation. It's eternity is what we talked about last week on the other side of that second date on your tombstone that you were made for. But here's the deal, and I, and I'm, and I'm done. Here's the deal. This doesn't happen without you saying yes. God doesn't just break into your house and take over and go, I know you don't want this, but I'm doing it anyway. No, no, no. You, you have to take the blood. Of the lamb and put it on your doorpost and say, not on this house. Death angel, not this house. Good God, just put the blood on the, no, he, he could've, but he didn't. He said, you take the blood and you put it on your doorpost. So church, I'm calling you out. Take the blood of the lamb, put it on your life and identify yourself in Jesus. I am in him.

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