Broken and Spilled Out
Hebrews 9:22
Oct. 9, 2005 FBC, Chester Mike Fogerson, Pastor
Introduction:
In the middle of Chester, at Mayor’s Park, there is a memorial for all those who died in wars.
A Many of us are not old enough to have known these people, but this memorial tells us who they were.
1 Many folks who see this memorial are moved.
a They see name after name of individual soldiers who laid down their lives fighting for our nation.
b That memorial serves as a reminder of the sacrifces made.
2 That’s what the Lord’s Supper means to us.
a It helps to remember the sacrifices made.
b The bible says in Psalm 23 what a Good Shepherd does for us.
aa He provides for us, comforts us, heals us, restores us, feeds us, and protects us.
bb And if that were not enough, He died for us.
cc Jesus himself said, "I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep."
3 This is what we remember at the Lord’s Table.
a Our Good Shepherd dying on the cross so that we would not only be provided for, comforted, healed, restored, fed, and protected.
b We would also be forgiven.
B We remember today the body & blood that the Good Shepherd broke and spilled out for us.
1 Hebrews 9:22 AV "And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
Hebrews 9:22 NASV "And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness."
2 ETS: Blood was to be shed to forgive sin in the past.
3 ESS: The shedding of Jesus’ blood is the only way our sins are forgiven.
4 Obj.: I hope you’ll fully understand the significance of the Lord’s Supper before you take it this morning.
C PQ: What does the Lord’s Supper mean to you today?
1 Let’s look at three words that can help us better understand what it meant for Jesus to be broken and spilled out.
2 Pray
I Forgiveness (Remission, AV) is a word of significance.
A Forgiveness (or remission) refers to a release of a person’s debt or sin.
1 Romans 3:10, 23 clearly tells us that all of humankind is in debt to God because we have sinned.
a Sin is a disease of the soul that affects all of us.
b (IL) A man was so set/determined to live a godly life and "get away from a sinful world" that he retreated to the desert to live as a hermit. He didn’t stay long. He said upon his return, "I couldn’t run away from sin because it was in me."
c Sin is a disease of the soul that needs forgiveness/healing/remission.
2 God has demanded us to live by His rules and the laws of love.
a God’s not demanding us to do a good, moral, decent, or religious job of keeping His rules/Law.
b God’s standard is perfection, & when we sin we go into debt with God.
c Sin is anytime we have chosen to break God’s law of love.
B The story of the prodigal son helps us understand remission/forgiveness of sin.
1 The boy said, "Give me my inheritance."
a Dad gave him 1/3, the oldest son was entitled to 2/3. "But he shall acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the unloved, by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is the beginning of his strength; to him belongs the right of the firstborn. Deut 21:17 (NASB)
b The boy went & squandered his 1/3 of his father’s estate on wine, women, & song.
aa Wound up broke in the pig pen eating pods from the carob tree.
bb He begins to think, "I might have messed up." "But when he came to his senses, he said, ’How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger!
2 The boy goes home to find a loving father waiting for him.
a He had said, "Daddy, give me." Now he was saying, "Daddy, make me a servant."
b Dad didn’t make the son earn his forgiveness.
aa In the pig pen there was misery, at home, mercy.
bb Everything the boy hoped for in the far-off country, he found at home.
3 What did receiving the son cost the father?
a It cost the wayward child nothing to come home.
aa Pride, ego, self-esteem was ruptured.
bb He didn’t pay anything to come home.
b It cost the father 1/3 of everything he had
C We are in debt to God for much more than 1/3.
1 We are in need of our debt to be remitted/forgiven.
2 Until our sins are forgiven, we’re in pig town.
3 Just as the father had to eat the debt, God has absorbed the debt we’ve incurred.
TS: Our debt is so large that God paid very dearly to make a way for our diseas to go into remission.
II shedding of blood
A As awesome as God’s love is, it is not the loving nature of God that brings us to salvation.
1 God is not only love, He’s also just & must punish sin (collect the debt).
a Our sins are going to cost someone something.
b In the story of the prodigal, the father ate the debt, it was only money.
2 In our life, it is the priceless blood of Jesus that was shed to pay for our debt.
a ’For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement.’ Lev 17:11 (NASB) tells us that life is in the blood.
b This morning we celebrate the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.
3 Had Jesus not given His blood, our sin would not be in remission, forgiveness.
a Anyone who comes to the cross, accepts the blood shed on their behalf, receives salvation.
b Jesus shed His blood so we could be set free
B Max Lucado: a missionary in Brazil tells a story of a tribe who wouldn’t cross a river because they thought it was filled with evil spirits (certain death if entered).
1 The tribe was being shredded by disease, a hospital was close...they only had to cross the river.
a The man stood next to the river, put his foot in, it wasn’t deep...no response.
b He went deep, until he reached the other side, he punched a triumphant fist in the air.
aa The tribe cheered & followed him
bb That’s what Jesus did
2 He told the people of His day not to fear the river of death, but they wouldn’t believe Him.
a He touched a dead boy & he came back to life...they still wouldn’t believe.
b He spoke a dead man’s name & he came back to life...they still wouldn’t believe.
c Finally, Jesus dove in at the cross & rose up at the grave with a triumphal fist in the air clutching the keys of death/grave...asking, "Now, will you believe me?"
3 Because of the shed blood of Jesus, we can know remission/forgiveness of sin.
Conclusion:
A ETS: Blood was to be shed to forgive sin in the past.
B ESS: The shedding of Jesus’ blood is the only way our sins are forgiven.
C We have looked at three words that can help us better understand what it meant for Jesus to be broken and spilled out.
1 Remission (forgiveness)
2 Shedding of Blood
D Obj.: I hope you’ll fully understand the significance of the Lord’s Supper before you take it this morning.
1 Choice: You chose misery or mercy (remission)
2 Choice: You claim the blood of Christ or you don’t.
E PQ: What does the Lord’s Supper mean to you today?
http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101020909/asurvivor.html
The September 11, 2002 issues of TIME magazine has a touching article about 31-year old Genelle Guzman. Genelle was the last of just four people caught in the debris of the Twin Towers to be found alive.
After the planes hit the World Trade Center, Genelle was descending a stair case from the 64th floor of the North Tower. Steel beams weakend to their breaking point. Solid concrete was pulverized. But somehow her body found an air pocket.
Her right leg was pinned under heavy concrete pillars. Her head was caught between stacks of wreckage. But somehow she was still alive.
For twenty-seven hours Guzman lay trapped and seriously injured.
In recent months before the attacks Genelle had started attending the church called Brooklyn Tabernacle, and wanted to get her life turned around. So while she was stuck in the rubble, she started to pray. She’d trail off into sleep – wake up and pray some more.
Shortly after noon on Wednesday the 12th, she heard voices. So she screamed as loud as she could, "I’m here! HEY, I’M RIGHT HERE!" A rescue worker responded, "Do you see the light?" She did not. She took a piece of concrete and banged it against a broken stairway overhead—probably the same structure that had saved her life. The searchers find the noise.
Genelle wedged her hand through a crack in the wall, and felt someone grab it. She heard a voice say, "I’ve got you," and Genelle Guzman said, "OH GOD, THANK YOU."
It took 20 long minutes, and then she was saved.
In many ways, Genelle Guzman represents the plight of all people. We are buried under an enormous mess of spiritual black marks – ways we have wronged our perfect God. The Bible calls these things sin. We have no hope of freeing ourselves. We are truly stuck. In need of rescue.
But by admitting the need to be forgiven – by reaching out and saying, "God, help me! I can’t get out of this unless you save me," we can be confident that he hears and helps.
That’s what we remember at communion--that God reached down into the rubble and saved us by the death and resurrection of Jesus.
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Respectfully,
Mike Fogerson
