Bro Gary Sunday AM 4/10/11

Bro Gary Sunday AM 4/10/11

Romans 5:11 KJVR

(11)  And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.

Atonement is reconciling man with God so that he can be at one with God.  Why was atonement needed?  When Adam and Eve sinned, that state of being won with God was broken.

Almost 80 times the word “atonement” appears in the Old Testament, and it appears just once in the New Testament.

Atonement is needed because all have sinned.  God is a God of justice and He hates sin.  He is the one that made it possible that you and I could receive the atonement through Jesus Christ.

In the Old Testament once a year there was a Day of Atonement.  The highlights of the Day of Atonement are:

There were men that were anointed to be high priests that took active part in the worship service.  (Leviticus 16 has most of these thoughts.)

Once a year the priests were instructed to first bathe.  This is good instruction spiritually and literally.  In the scripture we are taught to be washed by the washing of the water by the word.  When we get saved we become a new creature and we need to wash and wash again and again.  We learn many things that we received from the world and family that we need to be cleansed from many things.  For example slang terms that are just short for swear words.  The scripture tells us to let our yea be yea and our nay be nay and to not swear by the heavens or the earth or anything else.

After bathing, he was to dress in white linen.  The religious world will tell you that you cannot live holy that you must sin more or less every day.  The Bible tells us that without holiness no man shall see God.(Hebrews 12:14)  White linen is the righteousness of the saints.(Rev 19:8)

After changing, he was to offer a sin offering for himself and for his family.  We understand by having studied the sanctuary and worship how there was the brazen altar, and the bullock was to be offered for the sins of the people.  The priest was to take a censor of fire and some of the blood from the sacrifice from the brazen altar into the Holiest of Holies.  Without the blood there is no forgiveness of sin and no life, the life is in the blood.

He was to take it clear in to the Holiest of Holies.  He only did this once a year.  He was to take the fire, the censor, and two handfuls of sweet herbs.  He was to take the herbs and put them on the fire and it produced a wonderful smell of obedience to the Great God of heaven so that he would on this Day of Atonement to forgive them of their sins.

He was to apply the blood in different places.  This is an awesome study and helps us to know how important the blood is.

After this he was to offer an offering of thanksgiving on the brazen altar.  After you have worshipped, don’t fail to thank God for his great goodness unto us.

Especially in the gospel day, we need to thank God for we have received an atonement through Jesus Christ.  Through Jesus Christ, a plan has been made whereby your sins can be atoned for.  After our sins have been atoned for, we’re adopted into the family of God, and after this earthly tabernacle has been dissolved we have a home eternal in the heavens.

It is a wonderful thing to know that your sins are forgiven and you have been made clean.  After this, you have an attitude of God I’m going to serve you and do my best to live for you.

Much was done on the Day of Atonement because God had given specific details of what to do on the Day of Atonement.  Don’t take any chances or shortcuts; follow the word of God.

Repent doesn’t just mean accept Jesus Christ.  It means confess to God that you are a sinner and then to turn from your sins.  A lot folks will take what they can get from Jesus and try to shortcut the process of salvation outlined in the Word of God, but our God is a specific God.  It will behoove us to do what He says.

God told the high priest that after you‘ve done all that, I want you to take two goats and have one slain as a sacrifice unto Jehovah for a sin offering and the other one I want to be a scapegoat.  He told them to cast lots so that it wouldn’t be a choice of man but of God which one would lose his life and which would be sent off into the wilderness to escape.

One was offered as a sacrifice, and the other, the scapegoat, was taken to the door of the tabernacle and the priest would hold onto the head of the goat and confess all the sins of the people onto the head of that goat.  I don’t know how long he’d spend confessing the sins time was a different element in that day than it is in ours.  Everyone in the congregation wanted to make sure the priest had their sins confessed.

After he’d confessed the sins, they attached a scarlet cloth to the goat and then the priest chose someone to take the goat clear out of the camp past where they lived and turn the goat loose in the wilderness.

How we achieve atonement in our day:

Hebrews 7:24-28 KJVR

(24)  But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood.

(25)  Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

(26)  For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;

(27)  Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.

(28)  For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated for evermore.

I think of Jesus who knew no sin and came to this world and suffered as He suffered; He was holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners.  He offered a sacrifice not daily as the high priests, He offered once.   The thousands of sacrifices in the Old Testament that were offered for an atonement for the people, and made an atonement and forgave them of their sin but it never changed their heart.

You could have a bowl full of the blood of an animal and it would not make an atonement for your soul this morning.  The song, “Each drop of blood” is good to me.  I think of what took place on Mt Calvary, the prophesy was fulfilled that there would be a fountain opened for sin.  Men cannot handle sin, our society cannot handle sin, our government cannot handle sin, and religion cannot handle sin.

Jesus can handle sin this morning, His blood, one drop of his blood, there was a fountain opened when the spear was thrust into his side; there was a fountain opened for sin.

Every year the priests in the Old Testament would offer a sacrifice to make an atonement for the sins of the people.  Jesus did it once when he offered up himself.

Jesus became the offering for sin.

Isaiah 53:7 KJVR

(7)  He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

He went through this; not for himself, he tasted it for you and for me.  There are a lot of oppressing things in the world today.  I see Jesus, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.  He did it to become the offering for our sin.

Isa 53:4  Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

It is wonderful that when you’re hurting that there is someone that knows about grief.  We’ve tried to position ourselves in the past in a place where we won’t know grief.  How foolish, it can’t be done.

It hurts to see others hurt.  Sin and the devil and the world are not even nice to children.  I thought to myself to position myself so that my children would never know pain, it was impossible.  Protect your children all you can, but teach them to know God so that when they are hurt they have someone to turn to.  He has born our grief.

On the road from the judgment hall where he was mocked, distained, and humiliated, he went to the cross; there is no grief that He cannot help us with.  He has carried our sorrows.  There will be times when we really need comfort.  It comes to all of us.  If you live very long you’ll find that those times can come in many ways.  There is a balm in Gilead; Jesus Christ is our comfort.

They may have looked on Christ as a failure, stricken, smitten, and crucified.  They were without understanding.  He became the sacrifice for our sin.  He became the atoning sacrifice.

We’re taught in the bible of the rich man and Lazarus that died and Lazarus was carried to the bosom of Abraham and was comforted.  In hell the rich man lifted up his eyes in torment and wanted Abraham to send someone to his brothers to warn them.  God wanted him to know that there is a great gulf fixed.

Until men and women are saved there is a great gulf fixed between them and God.  There is a great gulf fixed between them in this life; sin and iniquity separate us from God.

Isa 53:5  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.

Isa 53:6  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. 

He bore my sin.  Because he bore it, when the blood was shed, an atonement was made so that I could go free.

Christ gloriously replaced the two goats.  The one offered for Jehovah and the scapegoat to bear our sins away.  Jesus became the one sacrifice for sin forever.

You don’t lay off things for lint, you quit sinning.  You repent of sin.

Jesus’ blood fulfilled the scarlet cloth.

We are blessed to have the Word.  I hold in my hand the King James Bible that 60 men gave their lives to translate into as close to the original as they could.

Isa 1:18  Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

It is only through the blood of the lord Jesus Christ that men and women can be forgiven of their sin.

Isa 1:16  Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;

Isa 1:17  Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. 

Christ is the head of every man and every woman, God never intended that men or women be oppressed by another man or woman.

Isa 1:19  If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: 

People make serving God really hard because they refuse to be willing and obedient.  If they will not be willing and obedient then they can never go to heaven.

Psa 103:1  A Psalm of David. Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.

Psa 103:2  Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:

Psa 103:3  Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;

Psa 103:4  Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; 

The devil comes to kill and to steal and to destroy.  His ultimate goal is to destroy.  I was on the path to being destroyed in sin.  If it wasn’t for the precious blood of Jesus Christ, I would already be in hell; I believe that.

Psa 103:12  As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

On the day of atonement that priest took the goat that wasn’t going to be sacrificed and confessed all their sins and had someone take the goat out into the wilderness to wander forever; their sins were forgiven and there was no one out in the wilderness to know any more about their sins.

One day on the hill called Mt Calvary there was a cure for sin; a man called Jesus hung between heaven and earth and that man made an atonement so that our sins could be removed as far as the east is from the west.  This is amazing, a God that knows everything has forgotten my sin.

Atonement in the gospel day means being made one with God.  No longer am I estranged from God, I’ve confessed, repented, the atonement was made and now I go free.

No shortcuts.  Sin must be acknowledged and confessed, and not only confessed but repented of.  Being baptized with the baptism of repentance, it is rare today that people really get sorry for their sin.  The publican prayed, “Oh God be merciful to me a sinner.”  The other one there talked of all that he’d done that was good.

After God has forgiven us of sin, we bring our offering of thanksgiving back to God.  There are a lot of things going on in this world today that are horrible.  But there is something good going on today and that is that you can be forgiven because of Jesus and the offering on Calvary.  He is worthy of all our praise.  Worthy is the lamb that was slain, to receive glory, honor and power.

After the conditions for the sin offering has been met and the sin has been confessed and forgiven, come back and praise God.  We have much to be thankful for.  We have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us.

I bring my offering of thanksgiving back to God.  I’m not talking in this thought of trying to do away with the second cleansing and sanctification, I’m talking about coming back and thanking God.

Heb 13:15  By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.

It doesn’t matter what your age is, it is only a matter of time and life will all be over.  He hasn’t come yet but if he comes today may he find us praising Him that He hung on the cross and made a way that we could be forgiven of our sin.

There is nothing too hard for God.  He spoke to my father and my father went to a barn and began to pray, and thank God he got saved.

Thank God for atonement, being one with God.  Think of what Adam and Eve enjoyed.  There were things required: don’t take of the forbidden fruit.  They chose to allow the devil to deceive them, “I’m going to make you sharp.”  There are things that we want to be ignorant of.

Think of the thousands between Adam and Christ.  There were those that knew God.  Thousands of those critters were offered to make an atonement for the past sins.

This man Jesus shed his blood once and it made an atonement for our sin.  When we confess and repent, we become alive spiritually and Jesus Christ lives in our heart.

On a hill called Mt Calvary Jesus Christ made a sacrifice to make an atonement for our sin so that we could be at one with God.

Song:
My God and I go in the fields together
We walk and talk as good friends should and do.
We clasp our hands our voices ring with laughter

If you’re holding onto something that God is displeased with, how foolish; why would one argue with God about anything.  If God speaks to you asking you to give up anything, give it up. God has made a provision for the atonement so that we could be at one with Him.