The Power of the Cross
Notes
Transcript
1 For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near.
2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins?
3 But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year.
4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
5 Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me;
6 in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure.
7 Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’ ”
8 When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law),
9 then he added, “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second.
10 And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.
12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,
13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet.
14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
15 And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying,
16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,”
17 then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”
18 Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.
If these last two verses don’t make you want to get up and praise the Lord, you may want to do some checking. The fuel for your fire is being dampened by someone, and it isn’t the Holy Spirit whom these verses come from.
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When we read these first verses, we realize we are still on the same subject of how the New Covenant established through Christ is better than the Old.
Once again, the Jewish faith, which God had intended to be for the entire world, but was held over the Gentiles by the Jews, had become more of a ritualistic set of rules to follow instead of the worship it was to impart. Many times throughout the Old and New Testament we can see where God tells His people through the prophets and disciples His desire for obedience and not sacrifice.
22 And 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 listen than the fat of rams.
In Micah 6:6-8, we can see what the Lord required of man.
6 “With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?
7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”
8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
But man kept coming up short. And so God prepared a body for His Son to come to earth to offer the sacrifice once and for all for all mankind.
5 Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me;
6 in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure.
7 Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’ ”
8 When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law),
9 then he added, “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second.
10 And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.
12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,
13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet.
14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
So, we should no longer look to the burnt offerings and the sacrifices which are made to try and cover our sins. We should only look to Christ who paid this price for our sins.
The sacrifice He made for us is complete.
The sacrifice He made for us is complete.
Look at the prodigal son. When he returned, his father set him at the head of the table. He didn’t make him do anything to work for it. His son turned from wanting to do his own thing and did a 180 and turned his eyes towards home where he know his father would be waiting. He was prepared to do whatever it took to win back the love of his father, but all it took was for him to come home.
How powerful is this? How many times have we looked to see what we need to do in order to curry our heavenly Father’s favor when all we really need to do is turn to Him and ask for His forgiveness?
I”ll pray a little harder. I’ll read the Bible more. I’ll get involved in this ministry. All of these things are great if they are driven out of our love for Christ. However, if they are driven out of earning our forgiveness, then we are going back to the Old Covenant.
So the question you need to ask yourself is in each one of these situations;
What is my motivation?
What is my motivation?
At the end of August, I preached a sermon titled Love God, Love People.
Why are you wanting to pray more? Why are you wanting to dig deeper into God’s Word? Why am I going to start going to this Bible study? Why am I going to get involved in this ministry?
Once again, seriously take a look at your motivation. When you can honestly say the reason you are doing any of these things is out of your love for God and love for people, then your head is in the right place.
You may even need to take a break for a little while from all the things you’re involved in and ask God to get your heart in the right place in order to be able to serve Him out of a sense of love for Him and others.
Do you remember when I read the verses about love? I did it very slowly so we could let those verses sink in.
Maybe we need to put those verses somewhere in our homes, in our cars, in our places of work so that when we find ourselves getting in the way of what God wants to do, we can remember the things that love is. Love is all about seeing someone through God’s eyes and not our own. Love is all about putting the other person’s needs before ours.
But at the foundation of all of this shouldn’t be our self-sacrifice. At the base of this should be our love for God and love for others.
But at the foundation of all of this shouldn’t be our self-sacrifice. At the base of this should be our love for God and love for others.
I know some of us in here today have felt the crush of what I’ve been preaching on our toes this morning. Believe me, when I was working on this, I felt it as well. Motivation should always be something we see in front of us so we can do things out of our love for God, Christ, and others.
But the beauty of this sermon is now we have come full circle in the scripture we are looking at today.
You see, no matter what our shortcomings we see in ourselves, we know the blood of Christ is sufficient to pay the price for our sins. There is no need for us to try and earn in it. There is no need for us to try and offer up the burnt offerings of old and the other sacrifices we may think of to try and do. The simple fact is we need to realize the mercy and grace of our heavenly Father demonstrated through the sacrifice of His one and only Son on the cross is sufficient for any sin I have ever committed or will ever commit.
15 And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying,
16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,”
17 then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”
18 Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.
Like I said earlier, if this section of scripture doesn’t make you want to jump and shout for joy, I don’t know what will.
19 Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out,
9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
8 Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.
14 if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
I remember a former pastor who at the end of service had people come up in the pulpit area. Each of these people had a poster. On one side of the poster, they had a sin which they had been struggling with, depression, alcoholism, pride, self-worth, and more and more. Some of them were what some of us would call “big sins,” and some were what we would consider small. The point is they were all sin. Things these people had been struggling with. Then, the person would turn the poster over and show the new creation God had created in them once they turned this sin over to Him and asked forgiveness and strength to overcome it. All of this was done during the song “Power of the Cross” by Shelly Johnson
If we simply take time to look at the verses and then the chorus, it is such a powerful song.
VERSE 1
Once in darkness, now in light
Once blind, now you see
Once a sinner, now a saint
Once bound, now free
VERSE 2
Once a stranger, now a child
Empty, now filled
Once condemned, now reconciled
Broken, now healed
VERSE 3
Once a prodigal, now home
Once lost, now found
Once an enemy, now a friend
Once poor, now crowned!
CHORUS
That's the power of the cross
See the chains fall
That's the power of the cross
See the chains fall
What are you struggling with today?
What are you struggling with today?
Are you struggling with a sin you can’t just seem to overcome? There is a Savior who can break those chains. He will give you the strength, and He will provide good counsel for you among your family here.
Are you having an issue with self-worth? The Father loved you so much, He sent His Son to die on the cross for you and me.
Do you find yourselves trying to earn your salvation? You are no longer under that burden. Our God offered the sacrifice for your sin. If this is your case, let it go. When you do things out of love instead of obligation, your whole perspective will change.