Hidden in the Blood
Hidden in the Blood Calvary Worship Center Springfield August 26, 2007 AM Service
I don’t believe that God has created or thought up anything by chance or that is just coincidence. All things are well thought out, purposefully hidden or symbolic, waiting for our interpretation and understanding.
Leviticus 17:11 says “For the life of a creature (of the flesh KJV) is in the blood” NIV
The blood has some very interesting characteristics that I wanted to talk about this morning.
Ø Blood is the life of the body - The body requires blood to circulate to living cells and tissue (10-14 minutes estimated brain death after cardiac arrest, but begins in 4-6 minutes)
Ø Continual intakes of food, air, and water are needed to sustain life (nutrients and oxygen)
Ø It is nourished by immediate intake or stored reserves
Ø Maintains body temperature – aided by active skeletal muscles and organs, redistributed all over the body. High temps are lost at surface of the skin, and when low temps, heat is taken directly to the brain and heat-sensitive organs.
Ø Removes waste from the body and is a defense from harmful infections and debris (white blood cells have specific roles against these invaders)
Ø When there is an injury, blood has the ability to clot the site to prevent further blood loss
Ø Bone marrow constantly supplies new cells, and red blood cells live approximately 120 days
Ø The shelf life of donated blood is 42 days – (blood and body live in harmony to continue life)
(FLIP) Leviticus 17:11 says “For the life of a creature (of the flesh KJV) is in the blood” NIV
The church was birthed through the person of Jesus Christ. His life, his words, his death, and his resurrection all began a new era in the history of mankind, i.e. the Church, the Body of Christ.
All scripture points to Christ, is a testament to him, and looks to bring people in relationship with him. He is why we have church today, but we need to understand how the blood in us represents Jesus Christ’s blood shed for us and how it functions in the Church Body.
ü Jesus is the life of the church – the body has no life without Christ in it (John 14:6 way, truth, life)
ü Jesus is the bread of life (John 6:35 comes will never go hungry, and believes, never thirst)
o It is vital to our existence that we eat, drink, and breathe daily
ü Our spiritual nutrition is not only based on immediate intake, but also on previously stored morsels that we have brewing in our minds from days past. (never return void Isaiah 55:11)
ü The blood flowing through us keeps us at a temperature that God will enjoy and not consider spewing out. That fire, brought on by the Holy Ghost, is maintained through the activeness of the members of the body, and, when complacency sets in, sustains only those members who are still under the influence of Christ.
ü The blood, as it flows and brings life, also weeds out sins and distractions from the body, and the presence of the Word (bread of life) brings warfare against anti-Christ infections within (specific scriptures combat specific sins and temptations)
ü The blood reacts to injury by closing gaps and beginning healing
ü As we live and nourish ourselves, natural renewal occurs and keeps us fresh and vibrant
ü In order for us to continue living, we have to retain our place in the body and support and compliment the other members (Hebrews 10:25 Don’t give up meeting together, but encourage) (The Blood in you will not live if you remove yourself from the Body)
Hebrews 9-10 teaches us that Christ did not enter the human tabernacle and offer the same sacrifices as did the priests, but rather entered the perfect tabernacle, Heaven itself, the Most Holy Place, once for all with his own life as a sacrifice. His offering was pure and complete, once for all people and sins. The Bible teaches us here that God set up the less perfect sacrifices, which only cleansed outwards sins, to pave the way for Jesus, whose sacrifice would cleanse hearts and lives completely.
Hebrews 10:19-24 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.
1 Peter 2:24 says “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.” (KJV says by his stripes you were healed)