Thankful: For the Blood Of Jesus

Opening prayer.

Tuesday is annual observance of Veteran’s Day.

We are very thankful for our veterans.

Could I get ALL veterans of the U.S. Military to come forward and face the congregation?

As veterans, we are a band of brothers.

We went into the military for a variety of reasons.

But we all understood that, first and foremost, we were serving so that we could protect the freedoms the people of this country enjoy.

At our enlistment we pledged, that with the help of God we would ...

...support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; 

to bear true faith and allegiance to the same; 

and to obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over us, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice.".

Could we all stand?

These who stand before you are not just veterans of the U.S. military, we are veterans of the Lord’s Army.

Unlike the U.S. military there is no ETS (Enlisted Termination of Service).

Instead, we pledge ALL of our lives to His service — even to our last breath and beyond.

You hear that commitment to Christ as we all …

Pledges

Turn and face the…

Christian Flag: I pledge allegiance to the Christian Flag, and to the Savior for whose Kingdom it stands;

one brotherhood uniting all true Christians, in service, and in love.”

Bible: I pledge allegiance to the Bible, God’s Holy Word,

I will make it a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path

and will hide its words in my heart that I might not sin against God.

American Flag: I pledge allegiance, to the flag, of the United States of America,

and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible,

with liberty and justice for all.

Would you come forward and personally thank these veterans by shaking their hand?

Then … Veterans and all can be seated.

Now, we have another special observance

Church Membership (The Rimers):

I. Membership

A. It is a privilege to welcome new members into the church!

B. Each time we welcome new members, the Lord gives us some fresh ideas to mix in with the traditional thoughts about membership.

1. Thus every time we welcome new members…

I pray that you long-time members receive encouragement in YOUR membership.

And that those who have not formally joined the church will be encouraged to do so.

C. Invariably, we keep coming back to the question: Why is church membership important?

Mark Dever says:

The church should be regarded as important to Christians because of its importance to Christ.

The scriptures tell us that…

Jesus founded the church (Matt 16:18),

He purchased it with his blood (Acts 20:28),

He intimately identifies Himself with it (Acts 9:4).

The Church is His Body, the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:12, 27; Eph 1:22–23; 4:12; 5:20–30; Col 1:18, 24; 3:15),

The Church is the dwelling place of His Holy Spirit (1 Cor 3:16–17; Eph 2:18, 22; 4:4),

The Church is the chief instrument Jesus uses for glorifying God in the world (Ezek 36:22–38; Eph 3:10).

Finally, the church is God’s instrument for bringing both the gospel to the nations and a great host of redeemed humanity to Himself (Luke 24:46–48; Rev 5:9).

Are YOU a part of what Jesus loves?

Will you publicly proclaim you are are part of the Body of Christ?

That’s what these new members are doing:

They are saying they are a part of what Jesus loves.

Ephesians 5:25–27 (LSB) Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, 26 so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she would be holy and blameless.

These newest members are also committing themselves to the church’s good.

Jonathan Leeman says that:

[In Philippians 2:3-5 the Apostle] Paul looked right into the eyes of the Philippian church and told them to submit to one another’s good, just as Christ had submitted Himself for their good.

The same is true for us and our local churches. Just as Christ submitted His whole life for our good, so we should submit our whole lives for one another’s good.

We NEED each other in these days of constant, violent outrage:

In 2020 I taught a multi-session class on Ed Stezer’s Book: Christians in the Age of Outrage: How to Bring Our Best When the World Is at Its Worst

It was based on his book: Christians at Our Best,

In one of those lessons, I read what Stezer says about the local church. He said…

We do not engage [our culture] in a vacuum or alone.

Scripture never views believers as unconnected, isolated, or autonomous in their mission.

Rather, the biblical writers always refer to us as parts of a body, a community of believers, an interconnected and interdependent delegation of Kingdom ambassadors.

This is God’s strategy to reach a broad range of people with the same simple message of the gospel.

Each of us is a member of God’s global church.

We are also called to be part of a local expression of that church.

God has given the local church as a sort of regional outpost to support, encourage, and equip us to neighbor others in a way that winsomely draws them to a God who loves them infinitely.

Without a local church, a Christian cannot withstand the age of outrage.

Bring Members Forward

A. So, this morning New Life Family Church has the privilege of welcoming, loving and COVENENTING WITH 2 new ADULT members.

1. This morning 2 people want the world to know (which is now easier to do through livestreaming!) …

That they have not only put down their roots in Christ,

But, they have also planted their roots in this local church.

2. Brother Mike and Sister Beverly Rimer, would you come forward ?

3. Please face the congregation.

B. Would the Board: Madeline (out-of-town) , Jay, Cecelia and Gene come and stand behind these new members?

C. As New Life Family Church welcomes these new members, I want to remind us that we are not an orphanage but rather a Family.

1. Jesus said in John 14:18 (NIV) I will not leave you as orphans; …

D. In an orphanage:

1. Orphans are not related.

2. Their common bond is merely that they all happen to reside at one location — the orphanage.

E. But, in A Family:

1. It’s NOT that way!

2. The family, THIS family in particular, is BLOOD-related. The BLOOD of Jesus.

THAT is what ties us together.

Not meeting in this building each Sunday.

Not some hobby or social class, or race

Folks the only way to describe this church is the supernatural calling of God.

HE has joined us together — through His precious and powerful Blood.

3. So, here is another family joining the body — united by the blood of Jesus.

1 Corinthians 12:18 (LSB) But now God has appointed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired.

1 Corinthians 12:27 (LSB) Now [we] are Christ’s body, and individually members of it.

F. It is our privilege to receive into the membership of this church family, _2_ Adult members (and ___Junior members) who have…

1. … made proper application and have been approved by the Official Board of the church

2. … We have sat down together and went through a membership class

2. … and are now ready to receive the right hand of fellowship by this congregation.

G. Our new members, and we as a church are going to publicly and vocally remind each other of our responsibilities and privileges.

1. This is Our FAMILY COVENANT together.

H. I will begin with our newest members:

1. I am going to read a statement and ask that if you agree with it that you say, “I do.”

I. Here goes:

J. Having been led by the Holy Spirit to accept Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, and desiring fellowship with people of like precious faith, and now in the presence of God and this assembly you are entering into a covenant relationship with these members of the Body of Christ.

K. So, do you promise that with the help of the Holy Spirit you will:

1. walk together with the other members of this church in Christian love?

2. work for the advancement of this church?

3. help it pursue holiness and a deeper knowledge of Jesus?

4. promote its prosperity and spirituality?

5. sustain its worship, doctrines and disciplines?

6. contribute regularly and cheerfully to the support of its ministries and activities?

7. If so answer: I do.

L. Do you promise to:

1. maintain your personal devotions?

2. seek the salvation of the lost?

3. avoid sin by avoiding the very appearance of evil?

4. seek that love which thinks no evil?

5. If so answer: I do.

M. Do you further promise to:

1. watch over the other members of this church in Christian love?

2. to remember each other in prayer?

3. to aid each other in distress and sickness

4. to be courteous and forgiving to one another even as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven you?

5. If so answer: I do.

N. Church, please stand. Do you promise to:

1. watch over Sister Cindy and Brother Ricky in Christian love?

2. to remember them in prayer?

3. to aid them in distress and sickness?

4. to be courteous and forgiving to them even as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven you?

5. If so answer: I do.

O. We therefore, as the Church of Jesus Christ and members of His Body, now receive you, into our fellowship and communion, recognizing that God has already added you to His Church. And we pray that the blessing of the Lord be upon you always.

Prayer with the Board.

ALL come and welcome!

PRAYER BEFORE READING AND PREACHING

I would encourage you to read the whole chapter of Exodus 12, but this morning, let’s look at …

Exodus 12:3–7 (NASB95) “Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth of this month they are each one to take a lamb for themselves, according to their fathers’ households, a lamb for each household. 4 ‘Now if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his neighbor nearest to his house are to take one according to the number of persons in them; according to what each man should eat, you are to divide the lamb. 5 ‘Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. 6 ‘You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to kill it at twilight. 7 ‘Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses in which they eat it.

Exodus 12:12–13 (NASB95) ‘For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments—I am the LORD. 13 ‘The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

The title of my message is:

Thankful: For the Blood of Christ

Thankful

November is a month in which, in this country, we set aside time to give thanks!

There are other countries that give thanks to God or to other deities, but, here in the U.S. we have a long history of giving thanks to God for His blessings.

We need to set that a big meal aside and give thanks to God for all His blessings.

We need to set aside, yes, turn off the screen! Macy’s parade, mindless games, whatever and give thanks.

We need to set aside football and give thanks.

We need to set aside going hunting and give thanks.

We need to, as says…

Psalm 100:4–5 (NASB95) Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name. 5 For the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations.

In fact, the Bible tells us that being grateful and giving thanks marks those who follow Jesus.

We have talked a little about that in our Wednesday Bible study on Ephesians.

The Apostle Paul said in: Ephesians 1:16 (NLT) I have not stopped thanking God for you. [and] I pray for you constantly,

Later in the same letter (we haven’t gotten this far yet!) Ephesians 5:20 (NASB95) always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father;

Paul modeled giving thanks.

He gave thanks for their faith and for their love for all the saints.

Their faith included their thankfulness.

He could see their faith through many external evidences — not the least of which was their gratitude to God.

Constantly being thankful should be who we are in Jesus.

And there are so many things about which we should BE thankful!

Week before last, I encouraged us to realize the POWER that is in the Blood of Jesus.

Power to:

Forgive and cleanse our sins

Power that gives us victory over evil and the devil

Power to sanctify and purify

Power to be able to serve God with joy

We need to be thankful for the Power of the Blood.

And this week, I want to encourage us to be thankful that the Blood of Jesus saves and protects us from death, hell and the lake of fire.

Saved and Protected By the Blood

We see that salvation in the passage we read in Exodus about the first Passover.

This passage teaches us so much about what the Blood of Jesus does.

It is the basis of the hymn that we sang earlier: When I See the Blood

In verse 3-7 we see Jesus as the Lamb of God.

As 1 Corinthians 5: 7 tells us … Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us.

So, first of all, Jesus is the Lamb of God sacrificed for us so that the Death Angel would pass over us.

Under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, John 1:29 tells us that John the Baptist John 1:29 (NASB95) … saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

Revelation 5: 6, speaking of Jesus says: Revelation 5:6 (NASB95) And I saw between the throne (with the four living creatures) and the elders a Lamb standing, as if slain, …

John the Revelator (different from John the Baptist) saw Jesus, the Passover Lamb sacrificed for us.

As our text in Exodus talks about the Passover lamb, it talks about Jesus being...

Innocent as a lamb

Unblemished (vs.5), perfect in all of His ways

Being killed

His Blood being applied to the two doorposts and the lintel of the house

Jesus the Lamb and His sacrifice has been shown by God in types from Genesis until His incarnation.

Perhaps the greatest emphasis is given here in Exodus 12 when God was about to send the final plague upon Egypt: the Death Angel.

All that stood between Israel and certain death, was a lamb.

The lamb that stood between the destroyer and Israel had several characteristics that foreshadow Jesus: the Lamb of God.

Again, remember, 1 Corinthians 5:7b says: “For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.

First, the sacrifice had to be a lamb (vs.3). A docile, gentle, quiet creature.

Jesus was gentle.

According to Isaiah 53:7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth.

Secondly, according to Vs.5 the lamb is to be a male lamb of the first year: in its prime.

Jesus did not give Himself as an infant or as an old man. He gave Himself in the prime of life.

Next, according to Vs.5, the lamb had to be without blemish.

1. As we read in 1 Peter 1:19

1 Peter 1:18–19 (NASB95) knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, 19 but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.

Jesus was the Lamb with out spot or blemish.

Our God is not only morally and spiritually perfect, but He is also perfectly righteous.

Jesus, who is God, is also perfect. He is without sin, without blemish.

Jesus, because of His perfection, was the perfect sacrifice to atone for our sins.

Next, the lamb had to be set apart for 4 days (Vs.3 & 6).

Before His crucifixion, Jesus entered Jerusalem on the same day that the paschal lamb was set apart for the Passover.

Once again establishing Himself as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

Then, Vs.6 says that the lamb had to be slain and its blood used to anoint the doors of the homes of the Israelites.

It is supposed that that the lamb was killed at the door of the house.

Vs.22, which gives more detail, speaks of taking blood “from the basin.”

“Basin” is from a Hebrew word that also means threshold.

So we get the picture of the lamb being slain on the threshold of the house and then the blood being applied to the lintel and doorposts.

Blood at the top (Jesus’ crown of thorns), blood on the sides (His hands nailed), and blood on the threshold (His feet nailed).

Not only was the lamb to be killed, but Vs.6 says that the whole congregation was to kill their lamb at the same time: in the late afternoon.

Jesus had the whole crowd that was assembled in Jerusalem for the Passover shouting: “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”

And so they did.

And He died on the same afternoon when the Passover lamb was to be killed.

Finally, Vs.46 tells us that not one bone was to be broken.

None of our Lamb’s bones were broken.

John 19:33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs.

John 19:36 For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, “Not one of His bones shall be broken.”

In verses 12 and 13 we see the reason for the death of the Lamb,

We see the reason for the Blood to be applied ...

To stay the hand of the destroyer, what we call the Angel of Death

To save from the righteous wrath of Almighty God.

Thankful for the Blood That Saves us From Hell and the Lake of Fire

So we see that God gave the Passover to prepare Israel for the Lamb that HE Himself would give.

Like He did for Abraham, as a substitute for his son Isaac.

That Lamb’s Blood gives protection from destruction and death.

Exodus 12:23 (NASB95) “For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to come in to your houses to smite you.

When the Blood is applied God comes in and protects from the destroyer.

As we sang a few minutes ago, the Death Angel will pass over you.

BUT, without the Blood of the spotless Lamb of God there is no protection.

God provides the only Lamb that gives protection and that will take away our sins.

There is No Other sacrifice, NO Other Way — only Jesus.

We have only one recourse today for salvation.

That recourse is trusting in the Lamb of God: Jesus Christ.

Depending on His shed Blood to save us and protect us.

In one person’s imagination billions of people were scattered on a great plain before God's throne.

Some of the groups near the front talked heatedly -- not with cringing shame, but with belligerence.

"How can God judge us?" said one.

"What does he know about suffering?" snapped a brunette.

She jerked back a sleeve to reveal a tattooed number from a Nazi concentration camp. "We endured terror, beatings, torture, death!"

In another group a black man lowered his collar. "What about this?" he demanded, showing an ugly rope burn.

"Lynched for no crime but being black!

We have suffocated in slave ships, been wrenched from loved ones, toiled till death gave release."

Far out across the plain were hundreds of such groups.

Each had a complaint against God for the evil and suffering He permitted in His world.

How lucky God was to live in Heaven where there was no weeping, no fear, no hunger, no hatred!

Indeed, what did God know about what man had been forced to endure in this world?

"After all, God leads a pretty sheltered life," they said.

So each group sent out a leader, chosen because he had suffered the most.

There was a Jew, a black, an untouchable from India, an illegitimate person, a victim of Hiroshima, and one from a Siberian slave camp.

In the center of the plain they consulted with each other. At last they were ready to present their case.

It was rather simple: before God would be qualified to be their judge, He must endure what they had endured.

Their decision was that God "should be sentenced to live on earth -- as a man!"

But because He was God, they set certain safeguards to be sure He could not use His divine powers to help Himself:

Let Him be born a Jew.

Let the legitimacy of His birth be doubted, so that none would know who is really His father.

Let Him champion a cause so just, but so radical, that it brings down upon Him the hate, condemnation, and efforts of every major traditional and established religious authority to eliminate Him.

Let Him try to describe what no man has ever seen, tasted, heard, or smelled -- let Him try to describe God to men.

Let Him be betrayed by His dearest friends.

Let Him be indicted on false charges, tried before a prejudiced jury, and convicted by a cowardly judge.

Let Him see what it is to be terribly alone and completely abandoned by every living thing.

Let Him be tortured and let Him die!

Let Him die the most humiliating death -- with common thieves.

As each leader announced his portion of the sentence, loud murmurs of approval went up from the great throngs of people.

But when the last had finished pronouncing sentence, there was a long silence.

No one uttered another word.

No one moved.

For suddenly all knew: God had already served His sentence.

As the Worship Team returns to the platform...

And Jesus served that sentence, He shed His Blood, because of love…

Because of His great love, Jesus shed the Blood that saves us.

He loves YOU so much that He willingly shed the Blood that delivers us from death, hell and the grave.

1 John 4:9–10 (NLT) God showed how much He loved us by sending His one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through Him. 10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

Revelation 1:5–6 (NASB95) … Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood— 6 and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Through His shed Blood, Jesus released us from what our sins cause us to deserve — death, hell, the lake of fire — eternal separation from God.

Through His Blood Jesus makes us …

1 Peter 2:9–10 (NASB95) But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY.

Does that describe you this morning?

Are you depending on the Blood that will never lose its power?

Could we all stand?

PRAYER

Has the Blood been applied to your life so that the Death Angel will pass over you?

If not, this front is an altar area, where you can come, repent of your sins and surrender control of your life to Jesus.

Oh, that Blood … ♪ reaches to the highest mountain …