National Little Britches Rodeo... 09/18/11 …..................Tasting the Blood
The other day my daughter and I were coming home from church and we are cutting up and listening to the radio. There is a preacher on there and he is talking about blood and how when animals get a taste of it they are never the same. And he goes on to say that about some people too, remember Mike Tyson he bit that fellas ear in a fight. But he was telling a story about how when he was a kid growing up he had an uncle that fought pit bulls. As I am listening to him tell his story my wheels started turning in my pea size brain. He says his uncle used to have a pit bull that he would feed raw steaks to. And when he said steaks he had my attention cause this fat boy likes a good steak. But I am thinking man why waste a good steak on a dog, I mean my dogs get table scraps but not a whole streak. The man goes on and says that once the dog got his first taste of the blood from this raw meat that he was never the same. The dog craved that meat and when the dog got it in his mouth there was no getting it back. He would lock down on that steak and devour it. And when his uncle would fight the dog he would have to use a crow bar and stick it between the dogs mouth and the other dog to pry him off. Cause once he bit the other dog and tasted the blood he wasn't letting go.
I don't know about you but I am kinda like that pit bull when he gets a hold of a steak.. I like my steak bloody too. I like it cowboy style hand rubbed with a good seasoning and cooked medium rare. Where there is some juice and blood mixed in it and it just gives it such a good flavor. Man that makes my mouth water just thinking about it.
So as we are driving and my little wheels are turning it hit me. The way I like my steaks bloody and juice, well that satisfies my taste buds and it fills and satisfies my stomach. But it does absolutely nothing for my soul. And then I realized hey dummy there is a blood that can satisfy all our souls. And I was like man we should be that way with the blood of Jesus. You see his blood should taste so good that we thirst and hunger for it the way we do a good steak.
The Bible tells us that Jesus is the bread of life, that His blood covers a multitude of sin. That his body is true food and his blood is true drink. And that by His blood we can have eternal life. In the Bible there is a lot about the blood of Jesus. But this morning I want to share a specific scripture with you that comes from the book of John chapter 6. To give you a run down on whats going on here The Jews were arguing amongst themselves and with Jesus whether or not He was from Heaven. Because Jesus had told them He was the bread which came down from Heaven. He had explained to them that He was the living bread and that anyone who eats of this bread shall live forever. But they didn't get it. So He went into greater detail in versus 53-58.
John 6:53-58
“Jesus said to them, I tell you the solemn truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood resides in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so the one who consumes me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven: it is not like the bread your ancestors ate, but then later died. The one who eats this bread will live forever.
Man can you imagine the looks on those non believers face when Jesus said that. Eat my flesh drink my blood. I wonder this morning how some of us react and feel when we hear this scripture. Does it make since to you? Do you understand what Jesus is saying. He is not telling us that we physically have to eat and drink his blood. He doesn't want us to be some sort of cannibals. He wants us to know that His blood has life. It has an eternal life in it. And if we drink it or accept it by accepting Him then we can taste how good His blood really is.
So this morning I want us to understand how to taste the Blood of Jesus and just how good it is. I wont you to know how to get it.
When we read what Jesus said “ For my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood resides in me and I in him.” That ought to get our blood flowing in a way that makes us wanna know that He resides in us.
~The first step in preparing a good steak is choosing the right one. There are many different cuts available to us. I prefer a good T-Bone myself. But everybody has a different preference. You might choose a sirloin, or a prime rib, or a rib eye, and some of you may choose the classic cowboy cut porter house. We all have different preferences when choosing. The point is it takes us making a choice.
You see for us to be able to taste the blood of Jesus we have to make the first choice. There is no other way. If you don't choose Jesus you cant taste his blood and He clearly states that if you don't then there is no life in you. And we all want the good life right? So when you have decided that you are making the choice to choose Jesus then you have the perfect steak with the perfect blood. A blood that can give you a new life and cleanse you of your sins.
You see from the very beginning in Genesis it all started with man choosing. Genesis 2:15-17 says, “The Lord God took the man and placed him in the orchard in Eden to care for it and maintain it. The the Lord God commanded the man You may freely eat fruit from every tree of the orchard. But you must not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will surely die.”
And we all know what happened next..Adam made the wrong choice... Choosing to make the wrong choice and sinning against God. And the same God of Adam is our same God today. We can choose the way Adam did and continue a life of sin or we can choose the blood of Jesus and find that the steak of life taste much better with Him.
~Once you have made your mind up and done your choosing. It’s time to prepare your steak. When you prepare a steak you take time to season it, this is the part where I like mine hand rubbed with a good seasoning. I like mine with a good pepper and salt based season and a few other spices. And when it’s seasoned just right it’s time to put that bad boy on the pit and smoke it. You see I like mine on a pit versus a grill. I like to smoke it with a piece of oak or mesquite wood. It gives it that little extra flavor and kick. But for me it is important how long it stays on the pit. If you leave it on there too long it will not be juicy and bloody it will dry out and be tough.
You know God prepares us a lot in the same way. When we choose the Blood of Jesus, God starts preparing us. He takes special time in seasoning us. You see when God seasons us we can produce a flavor that brings Him Glory. We do that not by taste but by our actions. As God seasons us we grow as a Christian. Our actions show our seasoning.
When God first starts with us we are like a raw steak. And as we read His word and become close to Him through prayer, God starts to season us. And He does this to give us a spiritual maturity. Which is an on going process of surrender and obedience. Like a steak has fat and gristle, it gives a steak it's character. Your spiritual maturity is a sign of your character. And as God continues to season you, he can trim some off that fat and gristle or leave it. Whatever He decides makes you the best Christian for Him.
God teaches us we should be like salt. Salt makes a difference in the flavor of the meat and we should make a difference in the flavor of the world.
The Bible says in Mark 9:49-50 “Everyone will be salted with fire, salt is good , but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with each other.”
The Bible also says in Matthew 5:13 “you are the salt of the earth.”
Salt can lose its flavor though if not used right and taken care of. The same is with us. A lot Christians just blend into the world and avoid the cost of standing up for Jesus. And Jesus explains to us that if Christians lose their distinctive saltiness they become worthless.
Once you've got that choice steak seasoned just right it's time to cook it. If you're like me you cook it just right on each side so that it holds the juice and blood in it and the center gets good and warm.
God gives us a lifetime of cooking to get us just right. How do we know we are cooked just right? Our lives show the blood of Jesus, Because people see Jesus in us. It’s the way we act, talk, live, and respond to the Holy Spirit within us.
~And when the cooking and the work is all done well then it’s time to enjoy the finished product.
You see when You choose to taste the blood of Jesus, you become a saved child of God, your sins are forgiven and you are washed clean, Then God seasons you into spiritual maturity, until you are the salt of the earth for His Glory, and through time and trials you become just right. And then when God is finished with you here on earth it's time to enjoy your reward for your hard work. It's called an eternal life in heaven.
Matthew 5:12 says “Rejoice and be glad because your reward is great in heaven”
Our reward is great in Heaven! Man the things we are gonna see and enjoy in Heaven, we can't even begin to wrap our minds around here on earth. But just like choosing the right steak, we have to start with the right choice to get to Heaven. And that choice is the Blood of Jesus!
Choose the saving Blood of Jesus, Let God season and prepare you just right, Then enjoy your heavenly reward of eternal life with Jesus!
GIVE AN INVITATION...................
