DON’T WASTE THE BLOOD
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR: Noah And Today's Ark
1. The Lord spoke to Noah and said, "Noah, in six years I’m going to make it rain until the whole world is covered with water, but, I want to save a few good people and two of every living thing on the planet. I am ordering you to build an ark."
2. And, in a flash of lightning, he delivered the specifications for the ark."OK," Noah said, trembling with fear and fumbling with the blueprints, "I'm your man."
3. "Six years later the sky began to darken and the Lord said, “Where’s the Ark?” "I did my best, but there were some big problems.”
4. “First, I had to get a building permit for the ark's construction, but your plans did not meet their code. So, I had to hire an engineer to redo the plans, including a fire-sprinkler system."
5. "My neighbors objected, claiming that I was violating zoning ordinances by building the ark in my front yard, so I had to get a variance from the city planning board."
6. "Then, I had a big problem getting enough wood for the ark, because there was a ban on cutting trees to save the spotted owl. I tried to convince the environmentalists and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that I needed the wood to save the owls, but they wouldn't let me catch them, so no owls."
7. "Next, I started gathering the animals but got sued by an animal rights group."
“Then the EPA notified me that I couldn't complete the ark without filing an environmental impact study on your proposed flood. "Then, the Corps of Engineers wanted a map of the proposed flood plan. I sent them a globe!"
8. "Right now, I'm still trying to resolve a complaint with the Equal Opportunities Commission over how many minorities I'm supposed to hire."
9. "The IRS has seized all my assets claiming that I am trying to leave the country, and I just got a notice from the state that I owe some kind of use tax.
10. Really, I don't think I can finish the ark in less than fifty years." With that, the sky cleared, the sun began to shine, and a rainbow-arched across the sky. Noah looked up and smiled.
11. "You mean you are not going to destroy the world?" he asked hopefully."No," said the Lord, "the government already has.”
B. WHEN BLOOD WAS WASTED
1. In 1996 it was reported that Israel secretly disposed of large quantities of blood donated by Ethiopian immigrants. This elicited accusations of ethnic discrimination and even racism. Much of Israel's Ethiopian population, about 50,000 today, was brought to the country in two dramatic airlifts. What brought their anger to a boil was the blood scandal.
2. However, the cause was not racism, but fear of contaminated blood. The Ethiopian community has a 50 times higher incidence of AIDS than other Israelis and so was regarded as a high-risk group.
3. Not wanting to stigmatize the Ethiopians by banning their donations, the blood bank officials decided to dump the blood. This added insult to injury. The situation was resolved through corrected procedure. (Ethiopian Controversy In Israel: It's Not Racism, by Harry Wall)
4. But dumping of blood takes place regularly. Some blood is contaminated, some wasn’t properly labeled, identified, or tested. Other times the blood is not kept at the correct temperature – iced down.
5. For whatever reason, the blood is dumped out. What a terrible waste! Someone donated the irreplaceable substance – the product of their bone marrow – only to have it dumped out! No wonder the Ethiopians got angry.
C. THESIS
1. First we’re going to see how we allow the Blood to be wasted, how it provides complete salvation, and how it is still effectual 2000 years later.
2. Title of message: “Don’t Waste the Blood.”
I. WHEN DO WE ALLOW THE BLOOD TO BE WASTED?
A. WHEN WE ALLOW CONDEMNATION
When we allow ourselves to be condemned by the enemy, or begin to believe that God wont forgive something we did, we are wasting the blood.
B. WHEN WE DOUBT GOD’S FORGIVENESS
1. When we begin to think that though God forgave us when we first got saved, if we sin since we’re Christians, God won’t forgive us…we are wasting the blood!
2. Some think on the Scripture; “If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God” Heb. 10:26-27.
3. What are we to make of this Scripture? Most scholars see in the words “deliberately keep on sinning” an act of apostasy, that is, to leave the Faith.
4. Few Christians ever apostasize. So this Scripture does not refer to the daily failures of Christians. It is well known that all Christians WILL sin; “8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” 1 Jn. 1:8. John says that we all have sin, even the most holy of us.
C. WHEN WE COMPARE OURSELVES TO OTHERS
When we compare ourselves to others’ righteousness and feel that we will never measure up to them or be good enough, we waste the Blood!
D. WHEN WE DOUBT OUR PRAYERS ARE HEARD
When we don’t believe our prayers are heard by God because we’ve “fallen short,” we waste the Blood.
E. WHEN WE ACCEPT A LESS-THAN FULL SALVATION
When we don’t walk in victory, when we don’t put Satan under our feet, when we don’t have the joy of the Lord in our mouths and a two-edged sword in our hands, we waste the Blood!
II. JESUS PROVIDED COMPLETE SALVATION!
JESUS DID -- IN THE ATONEMENT -- ALL WE’LL EVER NEED TO BE SAVED AND ACCEPTED BY THE FATHER!
A. BY HIS RIGHTEOUS LIFE & OBEDIENCE
1. Jesus fulfilled all righteousness in His earthly life. He was without sin.
2. On the positive side, He completed all righteousness by being obedient in every thought, word, and action. He kept all 613 commandments of the O.T.
B. BY BEARING EVERY SIN & TRANSGRESSION
1. Jesus atoned for the sins of the entire world. There was not one sin He did not take up and bear to Golgotha.
2. The Father was completely satisfied with the sacrifice of Christ. His wrath was completely depleted; His justice was thoroughly satisfied; all accounts were balanced.
3. There wasn’t one more thing that Jesus could have done. His was a perfect sacrifice. No other need ever be made.
4. Therefore, we can be perfectly confident that when we stand before the Father and plead Jesus as our atoning sacrifice, that the Father will receive us as He would Jesus Himself, so perfect is the sacrifice of Christ.
III. THE BLOOD STILL HAS POWER
THE BLOOD OF JESUS HAS POWER IN EVERY REALM. THERE IS NO PLACE WE COULD EVER GO WHERE THE BLOOD OF JESUS DOES NOT HOLD SWAY!
A. IT HAS POWER IN HEAVEN
1. It has power in heaven. The Blood of Jesus is there now on the Mercy Seat. It is still speaking. “To Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel” Heb. 12:24. The blood of Jesus is still speaking!
2. Think how powerful the Blood is, it can constrain God Himself to take action or not to take action. For us who believe, it turns aside His wrath and instead gives to us the fullest favor and love God can bestow!
B. IT HAS POWER IN HELL
1. The devil and demon forces, when the blood of Jesus is mentioned, they remember that day. Every time the blood is mentioned, they remember.
2. What day?
a. That day when Jesus came
b. when He bore our sins and bore our sicknesses
c. and tasted our death and took our curse and was buried
d. and went into Satan’s kingdom and pulled the crown off of his head and took the keys from his hand and rose victorious!
3. So, when Satan hears you say: “THE BLOOD OF JESUS,” His memory goes back to that day he was defeated by Jesus, the Son of the living God.
4. He remembers that Jesus said: “I am He that liveth
and was dead and behold I’m alive forever more and I have the keys of death and hell!”
C. IT HAS POWER IN THE SOULS OF MEN
1. Heb 9:14 says, “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”
2. That blood has the present ministry of cleansing our consciences. That blood has power within us to wash away sin and give pardon to our consciences.
IV. THE BLOOD HAS NOT LOST ITS POWER IN 2000 YRS!
When talking about blood as we know it.....
A. HUMAN BLOOD HAS A VERY SHORT LIFESPAN
1. The average person has about ten pints of blood in his or her body.
2. Over half of it is liquid, called plasma and most of the rest of it is made up of red cells, which die after 120 days and are constantly being replaced.
B. 2000 YEARS & COUNTING – THE BLOOD OF JESUS IS STILL FRESH AND POWERFUL!
1. SO THE BLOOD OF JESUS SHOULD’VE BEEN USELESS AFTER 120 DAYS! BUT THE BIBLE TELLS US IT’S EFFECTUAL TODAY AND IN THE FUTURE!
2. “And they overcame him by the Blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony.” Rev. 12:11.
3. The Blood was not shed in vain; it was shed for forgiveness, deliverances, protection, etc.
C. SONG “THE BLOOD WILL NEVER LOSE ITS POWER”
ANDRE CROUCH
1. The blood that Jesus shed for me,
'Way back on Calvary;
The blood that gives me strength from day to day,
It will never lose its power.
Chorus
It reaches to the highest mountain,
It flows to the lowest valley,
The blood that gives me strength form day to day,
It will never lose its power.
2. It soothes my doubts and calms my fears,
And it dries all my tears;
The blood that gives me strength from day to day,
It will never lose its power.
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION
WHEN GOD FLEXES. “When God flexes His muscle it does not look like Rambo or the Terminator; it looks like Calvary.” Gregory Boyd.
B. THE CALL
1. THE BLOOD THAT IS NOT CONTAMINATED
1 Peter 1:18-19 “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but WITH THE PRECIOUS BLOOD OF CHRIST, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” That means, one free of contamination. His blood is pure!
2. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” 1 Jn. 1:9.
3. The Lord’s Supper.
