The Price of Satisfaction 4/21/2019

The Price of Satisfaction

Guest welcome - We are so very happy that you are here today to worship at Branches Church. It is my hope that you leave encouraged having experienced the presence of God. With the desire to come again. At the conclusion of many of my sermons it is our churches custom to gather to the front as a group. Taking time to allow the Spirit of God to minister as He wills, and to encourage one another with prayer.

On my mom’s side of the family we have a large family tree. My grandparents had eight children. Six girls and two boys. Each of my aunts and uncles had a pretty good number of cousins for my brother and I to play with.

One of the hallmarks of the family were these large family reunions at my grandparents home. They loved to have us all there. Their home was small. A two bedroom house with a front room that was both the kitchen and living room. A larger room was usually set up with folding tables as a dining area. Their home was way too small for all of us to be inside there moving around but they had this large piece of farmland.

Majority of the men would end up standing around outside in the warm Louisiana tree shade. For the longest time I only had one cousin who was a girl. So the guys would go out and throw a football or baseball.

We only had one real rule. Stay away from the big road.

The big road was the Louisiana state highway that the home was located on. I had heard so many stories of people being hit by speeding cars.

Almost every time we played we would end up moving from the back of the house to the drive of the house on the side. Then to the front of the house near the big road. Paying little attention to the cars, trucks and tractor trailers that would zip by us with a whoosh.

Before long one of the adults would be standing at the front door yelling at us - “You boys get away from the big road! We told you! We don’t want to tell you again!”

If we were going there today for a family meal. At some point I would be one of the adults that would stand in the door and yell to my son. “You boys get away from the big road! We told you! We don’t want to tell you again!”.

The adults had a perspective, experience, and insight that we did not always understand what the big deal was. But they were right in their judgement.

Righteousness of God

God has a perspective, experience, and insight that we do not always understand. In His judgement He is perfect. It is part of His nature to be righteous. We us phrases like “God is righteous.” Or “God in His righteousness”.

The word righteous in its lowest form means right. Right in all actions, decisions, thoughts, perceptions. God is just right.

In His righteousness He has a perspective on everything. A view that at this time we can never have. We cannot see as He sees. We cannot think as He thinks. We are limited. But He is perfect.

Perfect Knowledge

Job 36:4 NKJV

For truly my words are not false; One who is perfect in knowledge is with you.

Perfect Works

Deuteronomy 32:4 NKJV

He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, A God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright is He.

Perfect Law

Psalm 19:7 NKJV

The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;

Law

The law of the Lord is perfect.

Even with some of its head scratching rules that we ask why was this so important to be place in your law Lord?

Laws like not celebrating one of the national holidays would result in being excommunicated from the nation.

If you are going to kill and eat a goat, you cannot cook it in its mothers milk.

Rebellious teenagers of which almost all of us were ones, could be stoned by the people of the city or town where they lived.

And a number of other laws that cause us to pause and say what?

God’s law was perfect. The judgement and execution of punishment for those laws was perfect, because they came from God.

Nature of Sin

Humanity has a nature of sin. The nature of sin is to rebel against God’s righteous judgement.

Have you ever considered why it was that the serpent found Eve near the one tree they were forbidden to eat?

We want to live as close to what we are not supposed to have as we can.

What we entertain - we fall prey too.

Judgement

God’s perfect nature. His righteousness in judgement when faced with sin requires satisfaction. Sin could never be passed over it must be satisfied with judgement. Blood - life was required for satisfaction.

Genesis 3:21 NKJV

Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.

Flesh of the animal ripped from its body. A bloody skin wrapped around Adam and Eve. The blood and life of the animal satisfied judgement. This was God’s provision for sin.

Passover

Exodus 12:6–7 NKJV

Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it.

Exodus 12:11–12 NKJV

And thus you shall eat it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover. ‘For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord.

I will pass through, and execute judgement. God cannot pass over sin without satisfying that sin with judgement. Blood and life.

Exodus 12:13 NKJV

Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

The blood had to be applied to the door posts. No blood there would be judgement.

God gave provision for sin through the substitution of animal sacrifice.

In the tabernacle - God designed a way of approaching. The day of atonement.

The altar - animal would be sacrificed, blood running over the altar.

The wash basin or laver of water - the priest would ceremonially wash himself, cleanse himself from the blood of the sacrifice and from the sinfulness of his humanity.

The Ark of Covenant - The priest would approach the Ark and would sprinkle the blood upon the mercy seat.

Leviticus 16:14 NKJV

He shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the mercy seat on the east side; and before the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.

If there was no blood, there would be no satisfaction for judgement.

Hebrews 9:22 NKJV

And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.

Above the mercy seat is where the Spirit of the Lord dwelt between two angel cherubs.

Inside the Ark contained the law as given to Moses, Aaron’s budded rod, and the pot of manna from the wilderness.

When God looked down at the covenant. What he saw were reminders of mans sinfulness.

Law - broken by Israel.

Budded rod - sign from God of authority, which Israel rejected.

Pot of Manna - God’s provision that Israel complained against.

We break God’s law.

We reject God’s authority.

We complain at God’s provision.

God would look down at the covenant he had made with Israel and all that could be seen was the failure of humanity to keep the covenant.

When there was blood - His perfect judgement only saw satisfaction.

Altar music

The Price of Satisfaction

The cross of Christ was all about satisfying judgement.

The blood of calvary -

Hebrews 9:27–28 NKJV

And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.

Hebrews 10:14–16 NKJV

For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before, “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,”

The only satisfaction for perfect judgement is the blood of Jesus Christ.

Have you had the blood applied to your life?

1 John 5:6–8 NKJV

This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.

Repentance - Altar

Baptsim in Jesus name - Washing at the laver

Being filled with the Spirit - our guarantee

1 Corinthians 1:21–22 NKJV

For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom;