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The Sunday Before Lent
February 22, 2009
Sacrifices and Christ

We are about to enter the church season of Lent—named for the lengthening of the days in Spring—and, perhaps, spiritually, the lengthening of days for Christians—in that we have salvation through the suffering—death—and resurrection of our Lord
 
Lent is a time of observance and remembrance of the suffering of Christ—from the beginning of Christianity, Christians approached the Day of the Resurrection (Easter) with a period of fasting—the length and intensity of the fast varied—until, finally, the church settled on a period of 40 days of fasting based on the Scriptural lesson of Jesus’ 40 days of fasting and temptation by the devil in the wilderness
 
Today as we begin to look at the suffering and sacrifice of Jesus—we begin with a look at the harmony of the Old Testament and New Testament writings concerning the sacrifice of Jesus the Christ
 
Obedience—Not Sacrifices Please God—the Sacrifices Merely Pointed to Christ
 
We consider the Book of Hebrews quoting from Psalm 40—the author of Hebrews actually places the words of Psalm 40 into the mouth of Jesus
 
NKJ Hebrews 10:5 Therefore, when He [Jesus] came into the world, He said: "Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, But a body You have prepared for Me. 6 In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure. 7 Then I said, 'Behold, I have come -- In the volume of the book it is written of Me -- To do Your will, O God.' " 8 Previously saying, "Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them" (which are offered according to the law), 9 then He said, "Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God." He takes away the first that He may establish the second. 10 By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
We As Christians Are Sanctified—Set Aside From Those of This World
 
The word sanctified means to be set aside as holy—to be made free from sin—Jesus uses the word sanctify when He knocked down Saul who became Paul and made him understand that he was set aside to preach to the world
 
NKJ Acts 26:15 "So I said, 'Who are You, Lord?' And He said, 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 16 'But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. 17 'I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, 18 'to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.'
 
And just as Paul was chosen to be sanctified—so it is that all Christians are set aside by our Lord—Paul knew that—it was revealed to him through the power of the Holy Spirit—and he wrote it in his second letter to the Thessalonians
 
NKJ 2 Thessalonians 2:13 But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, 14 to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
 
Peter also told us that we are elect—chosen from the beginning—sanctified by the Holy SpiritNKJ 1 Peter 1:1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied.
 
And now consider these words of Samuel—as he explains to Saul—who wants to be king of Israel—that it is not sacrifices that delight God—but rather the obedience of God’s people
 
NKJ 1 Samuel 15:22 Then Samuel said: "Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He also has rejected you from being king."
 
All of the sacrifices of the Old Testament pointed to the Messiah—Jesus, the Christ—and the obedience of Jesus—especially His obedience to offer Himself as the ultimate sacrifice—that obedience is what pleased God
 
Why Sacrifices Were Necessary
 
Consider life on earth before sin—life was perfect before the fall of man in the garden paradise—but after the fall the earth became a place of suffering—and the home of God’s Old Testament and New Testament believers was moved to heaven—we first look at the changes God instituted after the fall of man
 
NKJ Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel." 16 To the woman He said: "I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you." 17 Then to Adam He said, "Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat of it': "Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life. 18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field. 19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return."
 
Notice that before He announces the changes that will bring suffering—God promises a Savior—God gave man hope—if man would obey the things of God, man could again obtain the perfect paradise of living in the ever-presence of God
 
Adam sinned because he was disobedient to God—Adam and Eve –representing all mankind—had to leave paradise—the garden where they walked in the presence of God—to bring God’s people into the presence of God once more—the Savior that God promised would have to be obedient—even unto death—in order that God’s people could again join Him in paradise
 
From the beginning of creation God communicated with His people—He spoke with Adam—He spoke with Noah—He spoke with Abraham—and hundreds of years later—when His people cried out for help—God spoke with Moses
 
Those with whom God spoke—passed God’s teachings to their family—Moses was the exception on this list—he spoke to all of God’s people—and God gave him very specific instructions for worship—for government—and for sacrifices for sin
 
When Jesus began His ministry on earth—God the Father spoke to Him from heaven
 
NKJ Matthew 3:16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
 
And Jesus, the Christ—who God’s Word calls the Word—speaks to us even today and until Judgment Day—because we are God’s people
 
NKJ John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
 
I can’t explain why God chose you—but He did—and it is by grace you are saved—IT IS A GIFT!—and that gift is through the Word of God—the Word has the power to save
 
NKJ Isaiah 55: 11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
 
The Gospel message of Jesus Christ crucified and resurrected is the message of salvation
 
NKJ Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith."
 
NKJ Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
 
For those of us who have faith—our citizenship is in heaven—we’re only on this earth a short while—and the only comfort we are promised—is the eternal comfort of heaven
 
NKJ Philippians 3:20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.
 
While on this earth—our bodies are vulnerable to disease and suffering—but when we complete our journey through this life and pass from this earth into heaven to claim our citizenship—we will be in heavenly bodies—suffering and pain will end—and we will spend eternity in the presence and comfort of our Savior in heaven
 
The Beginning of Salvation by Christ’s Sacrifice
 
Luke tells us that it was necessary for Jesus, the Christ, to suffer
 
NKJ Luke 24:46 Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day,
 
We Christians—because we are Christians—must suffer while on this earth—it is part of our journey through life on this earth to our home in heaven
 
NKJ Acts 14:21 And when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, 22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, "We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God."
 
Jesus didn’t want His disciples to tell the multitudes who He was—He instructed them to be quiet on these matters—and He taught the disciples that He would have to suffer many things and even be killed—because it was the will of God
 
If we desire to follow Jesus—we must take up our cross and follow Him
 
NKJ Matthew 16:24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
 
The beginning of Jesus’ ministry was His baptism by John the Baptist—recall the words of John—and the words of God from the heavens at that great event—first the words of John
 
NKJ John 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 "This is He of whom I said, 'After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.' 31 "I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water." 32 And John bore witness, saying, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. 33 "I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' 34 "And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God."
 
Jesus was and is the Son of God—and the Lamb of God to be sacrificed to pay for our sins—God demanded it—Jesus offered Himself—and we are saved by God’s grace and mercy
 
ALL GLORY BE TO GOD!