Sermon Archive 12 - Trinity Fellowship

POWER IN THE BLOOD

The Teaching Ministry of Rick Trice

presented 3/17/96 @ Betania Baptist Church, Raton, NM

4/14/96 @ First Baptist Church, Raton, NM

4/17/05 @ Trinity Fellowship, Raton, NM

The OLD TESTAMENT employs the word "blood" 362 times, of which 203 refer to death and violence, 103 to the blood of sacrifices, AND 7 connect life and blood. THE WORD APPEARS ninety‑eight TIMES in the NEW TESTAMENT. TWENTY‑FIVE TIMES is that for death by violence; animal sacrifices ARE MENTIONED twelve times.

These numbers show that when a Hebrew heard the word "blood," the most likely association it would arouse would be "death."

WHY DEATH AND BLOOD?

WHY IS THE BIBLE SO OBSESSED WITH BLOOD?

*ADAM: GEN. 3:17-10 “..CURSED IS THE GROUND..YOU SHALL SWEAT AND TOIL…YOU SHALL RETURN TO THE DUST OF THE GROUND…”

*CAIN: 4:10 “…YOUR BROTHER’S BLOOD CRIES OUT FROM THE GROUND…”

*NOAH: 9:9 “…I ESTABLISH MY COVENANT WITH YOU AND WITH YOUR DESCENDANTS…NEVER AGAIN WILL ALL FLESH BE CUT OFF BY THWE WATERS OF THE FLOOD…”)

*ABRAM: 15:1-10 “…HE CUT THEM IN TWO, DOWN THE MIDDLE(blood sacrifice established)…THE LORD MADE A COVENANT WITH ABRAM…”

17:4: “…COVENANT IS WITH YOU…YOUR NAME SHALL BE ABRAHAM(changes our name)…I WILL MAKE YOU EXEEDINGLY FRUITFUL(gives us power to live)…KINGS SHALL COME TO YOU…I SHALL GIVE YOU THE LAND IN WHICH YOU LIVE(gives us an abundant life)…

*MOSES: EXODUS 12:7; 12‑14, "…THEN THEY ARE TO TAKE SOME OF THE BLOOD AND PUT IT ON THE SIDES AND TOPS OF THE DOORFRAMES OF THE HOUSES WHERE THEY EAT THE LAMBS....ON THAT SAME NIGHT, I WILL PASS THROUGH EGYPT AND STRIKE DOWN EVERY FIRSTBORN‑BOTH MEN AND ANIMALS‑ AND I WILL BRING JUDGMENT ON ALL THE GODS OF EGYPT. I AM THE LORD. THE BLOOD WILL BE SIGN FOR YOU ON THE HOUSES WHERE YOU ARE; AND WHEN I SEE THE BLOOD, I WILL PASS OFVER YOU. NO DESTRUCTIVE PLAGUE WILL TOUCH YOU WHEN I STRIKE EGYPT."

LATER, WE SEE THAT GOD GAVE MOSES A DETAILED SET OF INSTRUCTIONS, WHICH CAME TO BE KNOWN AS THE “LEVITICAL LAW”. THE LAW CAME INTO BEING TO HELP GOD’S PEOPLE DEAL WITH THE DEATH SENTENCE (CURSE) OF SIN ON A DAILY BASIS, AND HELP THEM LIVE RIGHTEOUS LIVES.

WHY IS GOD SO OBSESSED WITH BLOOD?

BECAUSE BLOOD IS A CLEANSING AGENT.

BECAUSE NOTHING ELSE CLEANSES THE CURSE BROUGHT BY SIN:

ROMANS 6:23 SAYS, "FOR THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH…”

ROMANS 5:12 TELLS US THAT “…THROUGH ONE MAN (Adam) SIN ENTERED THE WORLD, AND DEATH THROUGH SIN, AND THUS DEATH SPREAD TO ALL MEN…

Lev. 17:11 : "For the life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it for you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement, by reason of the life."

WHY WASN’T ANIMAL SACRIFICE GOOD ENOUGH?

SIN DESERVED THE PENALTY OF DEATH AND BROUGHT DEATH ON ALL ADAM’S DESCENDANTS . BOTH PHYSICAL AND SPIRITUAL DEATH. GOD PROVIDED ABRAHAM WITH THE MEANS TO DEAL WITH SPIRITUAL DEATH SO THE OFFERING OF AN ANIMAL IN SUBSTITUTION.

BUT IT WASN’T ENOUGH. BECAUSE UNFORTUNATELY THE ANIMALS WERE ALSO UNDER THE CURSE (SEE GEN 3:14…”CURSED MORE THAN CATTLE…”)

hEBREWS 10:1-4 (READ)

ANIMAL SACRIFICE DIDN’T CUT IT. IT WORKED MAINLY TO REMIND MAN OF HIS SINS. “…IT IS NOT POSSIBLE FOR THE BLOOD OF BULLS AND GOATS TO TAKE AWAY SINS….EVERY PRIEST STANDS MINISTERING DAILY AND OFFERING REPEATEDLY THE SAME SACRIFICES WHICH CAN NEVER TAKE AWAY SINS.”

TELLS US IT WAS the perfect offering THAT would bring life for Adam and all others represented by the sacrifice.

AND THEN FINALLY, WE CAN EASILY SEE THAT The animal sacrifice ONLY FORETOLD THE PICTURE OF the FINAL blood OFFERING of Christ JESUS. JESUS made the only effective substitution FOR YOURS AND MY atonement. HIS was the only offering that COULD BOTH PAY THE GOD'S FINAL PRICE FOR SIN, AND gain life for those whom He DIED FOR. .

MATT. 26: 28 "THIS IS MY BLOOD OF THE COVENANT, WHICH IS POURED OUT FOR MANY FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS,"

The shedding of CHRIST’S "blood" seals the covenant of life between God and man. JUST AS THE SHEDDING OF BLOOD SEALED GOD’S COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM.

BUT CHRIST’S BLOOD GOES ONE STEP FURTHER THAN JUST SEALING THE COVENANT BETWEEN US AND GOD; HE FOREVER REDEEMS US FROM THE DEATH SENTENCE.

I PETER 1:18‑19 SAYS, "FOR YOU KNOW THAT IT WAS NOT WITH PERISHABLE THINGS SUCH AS SILVER OR GOLD THAT YOU WERE REDEEMED FROM THE EMPTY WAY OF LIFE HANDED DOWN TO YOU FROM YOUR FOREFATEHRS, BUT WITH THE PRECIOUS BLOOD OF CHRIST, A LAMB WITHOUT BLEMISH OR DEFECT."

ROMANS 6:23“…, BUT THE GIFT OF GOD IS ETERNAL LIFE IN CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD.)

WHY IS BLOOD SUCH A POWERFUL SYMBOL?

BECAUSE IT’S NOT JUST A SYMBOL…GOD CREATED BLOOD TO HAVE ACTUAL POWERFUL CHARACTERISTICS:

BLOOD ACTS LIKE A TRAIN (EVER PRESENT WORD AND HOLY SPIRIT):

OXYGEN:

DID YOU KNOWS THAT Oxygen enters the blood through the walls of the circulatory system in the lungs. Blood then carries the needed oxygen to all other parts of the body. As the oxygen‑laden blood moves along, IT ACTS LIKE A TRAIN, AND "DROPS OFF" THE OXYGEN into the cells of the VARIOUS tissues IN THE BODY. The cells are the working parts of the body and need oxygen as fuel for work.

FUEL/WASTE/ HEAT

Blood carries digested food from the intestines to the muscle cells. When the muscles work, they make waste products that must be disposed of. These wastes pass through the walls of the circulatory system into the blood. The blood then carries the wastes to the kidneys where the wastes are removed. The work of the muscles and other tissues creates heat, which is transferred to the blood. In turn, the heat of the blood warms the body

BLOOD ACTS LIKE A POWERFUL DETERGENT (REDEMPTION OF CHRIST):

DISEASE

Blood plays a critical part in the fight against disease because blood contains several kinds of disease‑combating agents. If parts of the body do not get enough blood, they will become infected and their tissues will die.

BLOOD DETROYS AND TRANSFORMS (RESISTS THE DEVIL):

In general, BLOOD protectS the body from disease by SENDING WHITE BLOOD CELLS to the place in the body where a bacteria or other foreign substance has invaded and then swallowing up the invader, OR IN SOME CASES, TRANSFORMING AND CHANGING THE INVADER.

This is a first step in the important process of immunity, the power of the body to resist and overcome infection by chemical means.

BLOOD BUILDS IMMUNITY (FAITH):

white cells, In order to mount a truly effective immune response, must confront a foreign substance twice. The first time IS TO just get THE BODY ready for the fight. The second time, which may be years later, they can go to work and chemically inactivate NEW invaders. THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOUR BODY BUILDS UP IMMUNITIES.

Clotting

WHEN YOUR BODY IS CUT OR WOUNDED, AND THE BLOOD BEGINS TO STREAM OUT, In the presence of air or of some injury inside the blood vessels, blood BEGINS THE process of clotting. the BLOOD CELLS break and release chemicals, WHICH CAUSES THEM TO become trapped AND BEGIN TO CLOT TOGETHER. All this happens within a few minutes. When injured tissue triggers the clotting process, the tissue is eventually repaired and the clot is dissolved.

BLOOD IS TRANSFERABLE (THE BODY OF CHRIST/ THE CHURCH)

Transfusion

Sometimes an injured or sick person lacks sufficient quantities of blood or of one or more of the blood components. In such cases, the blood of someone else may be needed to correct the deficiency. Transfer of blood from one person to another is called transfusion. Any person who gives blood for transfusion is called a blood donor.

SO , CAN YOU SEE WHY BLOOD IS THE PERFECT SYMBOL OF GOD'S POWER IN OUR LIVES?

JUST AS BLOOD CARRIES OXYGEN AND ENERGY TO THE BODY, CHRIST'S ATONING BLOOD AND THE HOLY SPIRIT INDWELLING US NOURISHES AND SUSTAINS US CONSTANTLY;

SO JUST AS THE BLOOD CARRIES AWAY WASTES AND IMPURITIES, SO DOES THE ATONING BLOOD OF CHRIST CARRY AWAY THE IMPURITIES AND SIN IN OUR LIVES;

JUST AS THE BLOOD, IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE MUSCLES, HEAT UP THE BODY, SO DOES THE BLOOD OF CHRIST PREPARE US FOR THE ONGOING WARMTH OF THE SPIRIT'S PRESENCE IN OUR LIVES, TAKING CARE OF ALL NEEDS.

JUST AS THE BLOOD RUSHES TO COMBAT DISEASE AND INJURIES, SO DOES THE INDWELLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, THROUGH THE BLOOD OF CHRIST, COMBAT AND AND FLUSH OUT INVADING SIN IN OUR LIVES.

JUST AS THE IMMUNE SYSTEM USES BLOOD TO GET READY FOR FUTURE BATTLES WITH DISEASE, SO DOES THE BLOOD OF CHRIST THRU THE SPIRIT "GET US READY" BY PUTTING THROUGH FAITH GROWING TESTS OF ENDURANCE AND GROWTH.

AND JUST AS SOMETIMES, THE BODY'S SUPPLY OF BLOOD IS INSUFFICIENT, AND REQUIRES A TRANSFUSION, SO IT IS THAT WE BECOME TRANSFUSED AND TRANSFORMD BY THE BLOOD OF CHRIST IN A LIFE CHANGING EXPERIENCE WHEN WE ACCEPT HIS DEATH IN OUR PLACE.

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