Summary of the preaching
Sunday, April 2, 2023 – Apostle Billey.
John 1:36 And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God!”
Passover speaks especially of Jesus’ last days on earth, the last days of his ministry, what Christ endured for us.
Without Passover, there could be no deliverance. And we know that Jesus was arrested, like a robber, like a criminal, and he was put in prison.
he was tried, by several governmental organizations, and in the end he was found guilty although he was innocent. Although he was pure, although he never committed a sin, but the whole world found him guilty, and so he was crucified.
Jesus was arrested on a Thursday night and crucified on Friday at 9:00 am. At about 12:00, he expired dead – Until 3:00, there was darkness over the whole earth.
Supernatural things have happened that have never happened on this earth: the sun has stopped shining not only in Jerusalem, but in the whole world. So it is not only for one people – Israel, but it is for the whole world. For it is written, John 3:16 for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
And through Easter, every year, not only do Christians have to remember what happened at the cross, but they also have the assurance of their salvation.
In the tabernacle, the altar of the Ark of the Covenant is the altar where the mercy seat is located. The mercy seat, which means the place of mercy.
Here the priest put blood on the mercy seat -When blood is shed, it proves that the sacrifice has been made. So when God sees the blood in that place, it allows sins to be forgiven.
The sacrifice was made at the altar of sacrifice, and the priest took the blood to sprinkle on the mercy seat.
In the book of Hebrews, it is explained how the priest entered the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place, and took the blood in a bowl, and sprinkled it between the two angels with outstretched wings /on the mercy seat, and this seven times.
John 19.30 When Jesus had taken the vinegar, he said, “It is finished. And, lowering his head, he gave up the spirit.
When Jesus breathed his last on the cross, spiritually his blood was taken to heaven.
It is important to note that the tabernacle no longer really existed in Israel, which means that in practice, many things had changed.
But the tabernacle of heaven still exists and nothing has changed.
** Why spiritually was the blood of Jesus presented in heaven?
The men who made the plot through Judas to betray Jesus were the priests, yet they are the ones who are supposed to provide the service.
However, because of their blindness and deafness, taking him for a brigand, they chose to crucify Jesus. So when Jesus was crucified, it was not they who were going to take the blood of Jesus to sprinkle on the mercy seat
Now it is for all sins that God brought his son, so that the blood flowed on the cross.
So mysteriously and divinely the blood shed by Jesus Christ, on the altar of sacrifice to set us free, was thus sprinkled on the altar of mercy.
This allowed us to be able to give our lives to God and we were accepted/reconciled with God.
So many of us have benefited from God’s mercy for over 2000 years.
The first Passover is found in the book of Exodus 12:13,14, at the time of Moses, especially when they were still in Egypt.
When the angel of death was about to pass through Egypt, all the firstborn were to be killed.
Exodus
12 That night I will pass through the land of Egypt, and will smite all the firstborn of the land of Egypt, both man and beast, and will execute judgments against all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord.
13 The blood shall be a sign to you on the houses where you are; I will see the blood, and I will pass over you, and there shall be no plague to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.
14 You shall keep this day in remembrance, and keep it as a feast to the LORD; you shall keep it as an everlasting statute for your descendants.
Beloved, once we give our life to God, we must also pray for our families to have life in Jesus, we must know that salvation is not only for us, but also for our families, our friends, our neighbors…
And indeed when the angel of death came, not one person of the tribe of Israel died because of the blood that was on the door of their houses. On the other hand, the Egyptians were totally devastated.
** And why did God ask this?
Our God is a God of justice.
God cannot look at a person who is living in sin and tell him that you are justified,
Our God is a God of justice, which means God does not compromise. The soul that sins is the one that dies.
God will not approve of us living a compromised life, and he cannot favor those who live in sin. But the wages of sin is death.
Romans 6:23.
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
An act had to be done for the sin to be paid.
** How can sin be paid for?
Money can only pay for what is material. Indeed, money cannot pay a human being.
This means that when it comes to sin, our money, our possessions can do nothing.
It is only through the sacrifice of blood that sin can be paid for.
** What can we do to stop dying because of our sins?
Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God;
We all know that with money, it is possible to repair an object, if a phone is broken, we can replace it with money.
But when a life is filled with sins, if the person is spiritually dead how can that person come back to life? This person has to pay a price.
But the person is already spiritually dead and therefore cannot do anything for himself.
Moreover, everyone was dead spiritually because of sin, sothe world was doomed to death, to destruction.
This is the reason why Jesus came to pay the price for our sins.
Our sins could only be taken away by the sacrifice of the blood of Jesus Christ – the only Righteous One.
There is life in the blood as it is written in Leviticus 17:11 For the soul of the flesh is in the blood. ..
Therefore, the one who died by sin is the one who needs the blood to atone for his sins.
This sinner needs life, and it is not water that can take away the sin of the person, much less money.
** What if we have to use money to take away our sins?
No matter how much money there is, everyone will get what they need to pay for life, but unfortunately in money there is no life, so we have to go where there is life.
And it is only in the blood that there is life.
That is why God allowed Moses to put blood on the door lintels of the families of Israel. This meant that these people could live!
Someone who has sinned can only be cleansed by blood. That is why the blood of Jesus is precious to us.
John 1:36
And looking at Jesus as he passed by, he said, “Here is the Lamb of God.
In the time of Moses in Egypt, animals were used for sacrifices. And these sacrifices had to be renewed each time.
But in the New Covenant, instead of an animal, it is rather the person of Jesus who came to give his blood.
So when Jesus went to the cross, it was to prepare the way for us.
Long before we came to this earth, the price had already been paid.
That’s why the blood of Jesus is able to take away our sins, that means able to take away death to give us life.
With confidence, therefore, we must walk with authority and in spirit to honor the Lord.
We must not take the blood of Jesus lightly. We must not take Jesus’ message lightly.
The reason we were forgiven is because the blood of Jesus was shed, his blood was sprinkled on the altar of mercy and that took away our sins.
So we are all the fruit of God’s mercy, of God’s grace. That is why we should rejoice in what Christ has done for us.
Beloved, we can see that Jesus was crucified for us. For our deliverance, our redemption, our life…
In the Old Testament, in the book of Leviticus – it is explained how the priest used the blood of animals in the tabernacle to atone for the sin of the people.
It is the same thing that is happening now with us, the only difference is that the spirit in the new covenant is more powerful than the one in the time of Moses.
When a person had sinned – it was necessary for him to be purified so that he would not live in a curse.
So in the old covenant, the person had to take an animal and bring it into the tabernacle.
The priest had to examine the sacrifice because the animal must be without blemish, pure and without any deformity.
Then the sinner must put his hand on the head of the animal, make a prayer calling the name of the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, and acknowledge his sin by speaking. He then identified himself with the animal that was pure – and thus his sin was transferred totally onto the sacrifice – onto the animal that was therefore to die.
When God sees the blood, it is no longer the blood of the animal but has become the blood of the person who has sinned.
And the person is forgiven – reconciled and gets God’s favor again.
For if the sin were not transferred, the person would still remain spiritually dead because of the sin that remains in his or her life.
And if that person dies physically, they would still go to hell.
Beloved, it is the same principle with the Lamb of God Jesus Christ – we can transfer everything to our redeemer and thus be forgiven and delivered.
Golgotha is the place of judgment, the place of deliverance, a place where Jesus was condemned, was judged so that we could be reconciled with God.
That is why we must do everything to be always connected with Jesus.
We must take our walk with the Lord Jesus seriously.
He is our redeemer, our deliverance.
LET US PRAY →
Lord Jesus, you are my redeemer.
Thank you for having paid the price so that I could be forgiven, delivered, liberated…
Forgive the sins of my home, my children, parents, brothers, sisters, neighbors…
I transfer to you, Lamb of God, all evil in my life, my weaknesses, my burdens, my fears…
Only you can deliver my savior.
O my God, I surrender myself entirely to you,
In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
Amen!