The blood or the blade

Open your Bible to. Galatians chapter 5 we're going

Galatians 5 · chapter mention

to be picking up in verse. Two.

It's so. Good to have you here.

If you've been with us for the last.

Few weeks and months we've been going through Galatians.

Actually, Paul has been. Wrestling with our hearts.

As he did with the church in Galatia for four.

Chapters because what has? Happened is Paul's gone into?

Galatia, He shared the. Gospel He's seen radical

salvations. He's seen the Holy Spirit hover

and minister lives changed. But now he's hearing news that

some plonkers have gone in there and have started to preach

another gospel. And this gospel is.

The fact that the. Cross is not enough.

You really need to work. Hard at your salvation.

You need to balance these scales.

I mean, your past is pretty. Shady.

So you've got to do a whole bunch of good works.

Even begin to measure up to what?

God is. Expecting of you.

Or the fact that, you know, you were adopted.

You're now a son. No, no, no, no, no.

You're. Still a slave, you?

Know, can we take you to the scriptures and show you where

you're a disappointment and a failure and you need to measure

up to Paul. I think he's pulling his hair

out. I can just, you know, I have a

vivid imagination, but I can see him sort of pacing in in the

study and you know, he's got his quill in his hands.

Like what more must I tell? These people to get through.

And then he gets. To chapter 5 verse.

Two which says listen. I Paul tell you.

This Read my lips if you are counting on circumcision to make

you. Right with God he uses.

Circumcision as a blanket term for trying hard, doing better,

pulling up your socks, earning your salvation.

If you are counting on circumcision to make.

You right with God. Then Christ will be of no

benefit. To you.

I'll say it again, if you're trying to find favor with God by

being circumcised, you must obey every regulation in the whole

Law of Moses. For if you're trying to make

yourself. Right with God by.

Keeping the law. You've been cut off from Christ.

You have. Fallen away from.

God's grace. Them's fighting words.

And I know what he's. Doing I know what's.

Stirring in his heart. Because that's my Monday.

Yeah. You go to church and it's

beautiful. And you whipped in this baptisms

and you see people saved. And then on Monday you think

something, do something, see something.

And all of a sudden, I don't know if I don't approach God

anymore. I need to start piling up my

work. So I've got to take my spiritual

pulse. So I've been looking at this

because I'm like, Lord, that is me over and over again that.

Is the city of Pretoria that is 3 CR the struggle this?

Constant. Struggle.

Between the cross, is it enough? And circumcision?

Must I do more? Or as I.

Like to say, and we're going. To look at today.

We need to. Decide.

Where do we find it? In the blade or in the blood?

What is your hope the blade do? Better try harder, no longer a

disappointment. Or the blood is the blood?

Enough. So with this stirring in me, I'm

going to, I'm going through the entire Old and New Testaments

and look at the the value, the weight, the beauty and power of

the blood. And I'm, I'm going to invite you

on a bit of my journey. I'm going to squeeze it into the

next 30 minutes of how God answered my question like Lord.

Why is it? Because I think this is this is

the reason why I'm vacillating between the two is because I,

and I'm sure you are. Very.

Familiar with the blade, Disappointment being a failure,

Not measuring up, you're often told.

Maybe your father raised you and told you.

I heard of a guy who was called. Stupid number.

Five by his. Dad until he was in his. 20s

fifth child. Stupid number maybe like me,

your nickname as a child was. Jerk.

You're very. Familiar with this that you

don't quite measure up. You never are going to measure

up. You've got to do more.

But we're so unfamiliar with the.

Power of the blood. So I want to remind you.

The power. Of the blood.

Thank you, Klinto. Going right very to the very,

very, very, very beginning, right like page one, you know,

long before you even get into. The weeds Weed.

Scripture. We found the very. 1st.

Mention of the blood. Actually, the very first.

Shedding of blood. You know the story Adam and

Eve's, and remember what Paul saying here you want to.

Do right. You want to be right with God.

Well, these. Are the guys.

Who made us unright? With God.

And so they're sitting there trying to make right with God,

but they're hiding in the in the bushes, naked and a shame full

of guilt. They've sinned.

And what we find in in Genesis 321 it says.

The Lord. God made garments of skin for

Adam and his wife and clothed them.

This is the first time blood is shed.

The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and

clothed them. Now what's amazing there, just

in passing, is the fact that somehow he's showing them that

you can't approach me anymore. But by the blood.

You can't have fellowship with me anymore.

But by the blood. Actually.

You are a Sinner, but for the blood.

Now things. It's one of those verses that

you sort of you'll just read. Past doesn't quite.

Hit you? But I looked at that.

I thought. That must have been a staggering

moment for them, because we don't actually find.

This blood. Issue being addressed or listen,

you have to for centuries. But somehow what happened there

with Adam and Eve made such an impact on them that we see

generation after generation page.

After page you just go through your Bible.

From the beginning, as you wade into Genesis and Exodus, you

find the blood again and again and again.

But you also find the blade, so Adam and Eve.

A covered blood is shed. They're allowed to.

Commune with God once again. They're.

Kids Cain and Abel Cain. He's a blade guy.

Don't put your stuffs on me. I will worship you the way I

want to worship. Yeah, my veggies, Abel.

He's a blood guy. Somehow Abel saw.

Somehow Abel understood because Hebrews, 11 says by faith.

Abel brought. A lamb as a sacrifice, actually,

what? This is I love.

This part in Hebrews 11 that says.

God testified to his offering. So he brings it by faith.

And God testifies. I don't know what comes to mind

when when you hear. The word testify.

To me, it's like African American church, you know, with

the. Pastor half, preaches half.

Sings. You know, can I get a witness?

I remember preaching. Yeah, it's filled filled

brother. Come on.

Glorious testify, I preached once.

There was a guy about 3 or 4 rows.

Back that kept saying tell us. Pastor, tell us.

Testify that's what God is doing.

That's what God. He's in heaven.

He sees Abel. Bringing a lamb and he.

Testifies. Gabriel, my uncle.

Come. Guys, come take a look.

He gets it. He gets it, but by the blood.

He saw something with Adam and Eve and he's appropriated it for

himself, unlike his brother Cain and you.

Fast forward. Generations.

And you come across a guy named Noah.

Now when you were in Sunday school, you were taught that

Noah took the animals. Two by two.

Wrong. Seven by two.

You know all the clean animals. He took seven pairs.

See because. Noah had heard about his Great,

great, great, great. Grandfather and grandmother and

what had happened when they sinned and how God atoned for

that, He's now witnessing first hand a generation that is going

to be. Judged.

By our Heavenly Father and he makes sure I'm not stepping back

on earth. But by the blood.

Takes 7 pairs of clean animals and the first thing he does is

build an altar and sacrifice. To them.

But by the blood you look at Abraham.

God says, Listen, I want to make a covenant.

With you, he cuts. Those animals in half, there's a

shedding of blood, he says. Listen, I promise you.

You will be a. Blessing and this land is yours.

The first thing he does is build an altar and sheds blood as it

comes off to him. Does exactly the same jacket

comes off to him? Does exactly the same.

The blood. The blood.

Page after page. Why?

The. Blood.

You mess. Why?

What's What's the deal with the blood well?

I came to my conclusion from going from the very beginning to

the very end. Right at the very end, in

Revelation chapter 13, John is given a prophetic vision of the

Revelation 13 · chapter mention

end times, the moments where people are being.

Gathered. The Bible says that.

It's appointed to man to die once and then comes judgment.

So this is the context. Of this verse.

And then it talks about the lamb.

'S Book of Life that is opened. And then the Bible gives, almost

like in brackets, you know we're going to which lamb?

And then says the following Revelation 13, it says the Lamb

who was slain before the foundation of the.

World, So we write. At the end, but actually we were

looking at right at the. Very beginning.

The Lamb was slain before the foundation of the world.

Where was he slain? Because the world wasn't there.

Jerusalem wasn't there. Rome hadn't come with the

crucifixion idea just yet. Could only be that.

Jesus was crucified in the heart of the Father before the

foundation of the world, which means.

That as we. Go through Genesis and Exodus

and Leviticus and Deuteronomy and Numbers and all this blood

being shed when God is looking on that.

He was before. The Foundation.

Of the world crucified. Slain in the heart of the

Father, which means that the Father is looking at that blood.

And he doesn't reduce. It to an animal.

He raises it to. The blood of the lamb.

So he looks on that in the shadow of the cross that will

come one day, and he says it's so important that you get if you

want to have fellowship with me. It requires blood if you want

to. Approach me requires blood.

If you want to be accepted by me, it will.

Require blood. If you want to enter into my

thing, it requires a covenant. It requires blood over and over

and over again. This is why we found the blood

from the very first. Pages of Scripture.

But I want to show you. That's why it's so important to

them, what's so important to God.

But I want to show you why it's so important to me.

Can't talk about the blood without going to the Passover.

The problem with the Passover. Is that we've heard it so many

times, The 10 plagues, the crossing of the Red Sea.

That you approach it with. Preconceived ideas.

So bear with me. Clean slate.

Read and listen. This is Exodus 12.

Why is the blood? So important to me.

First one says the Lord said to Moses and Aaron and Egypt tell

the whole community of Israel that on the 10th day of this

month each man has to take a lamb for his family.

Each for. One for each household.

Take care of them until the 14th day of the month, when all the

members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at

twilight. Then they are to take some of

the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the door

frames of the houses where they eat the lambs.

The blood on your blood on your hosts.

Will circle as a. Sign marking the houses where

you are staying. When I see the blood, I'll pass

over you. And this?

Plague of death. Will not touch you when I struck

the land of Egypt. This plague.

Of death will not touch you. When I struck the land of Egypt.

I don't know if you know this, millennials.

I don't know if your mommy's. Told you this, but.

You're going to die. You're going to die by deadness,

and you're going to be. Dead for a very.

Very long time. I'm sorry.

Sorry. Trigger warning.

Trigger warning. Be ready.

You're going to die for a long time.

You owe it to yourself. To consider the blood of the

lamb. The Bible says after.

Death comes judgement, the eternal death.

And what's interesting there is Paul is saying.

Do you realize that if you are? Banking on your.

Works that Christ is. Of no benefit to you when you.

Face. The final death What are you

going to hold up in front of your Heavenly Father?

What is going to be on the doorposts?

Of your heart only by the blood. I can tell you your CV that you

worked so many years at Microsoft is going to count for

next to nothing -1,000,000. You might have worked.

Really, really hard because you've got a very.

Shady background. And so now you've been giving

money to the poor and working into those orphanages counts

nothing. You're not going to hold your

CV. You're not going to hold your.

Status. Doesn't matter if you.

Lived in Silver Lakes. Nothing but the blood.

The plague of death. It actually says in Hebrews 11.

It says by faith Moses kept the Passover and the application of

blood. So that the Destroyer.

Would not touch the first corner.

I love that. So you're talking about death

and the? Destroyer held at Bay by the

blood. I don't know if you hear when,

Rory. Spoke.

We preached through. The Book of Job saw something

there that I don't think I probably read it.

I mean, you know, you've read. The Bible?

A few. Times, but it never.

Really stuck. What we know when we think of

the book of Job is we know that Satan stands in the counsel of

the Holy and he says listen, listen.

Only reason why that Job guy likes you.

The only reason why it comes to church, the only reason why he

raises his hands and sings the Hallelujah, is because you don't

let me touch him. I know that about job.

But what I'm less familiar with was what you found in Job.

Chapter One where every. Time his.

Kids would have a. Weekend party, He'd wake up

early in the morning. And he'd sacrifice.

There would be a shedding of blood just in case they sinned,

just in case the cursed God seemed like.

Job's kids. Had some friends from the bluff

and then he had those two kids come from Alfre's and he thought

like, who need to now we need blood.

We're in trouble. He called me then.

He was like, but Derek Prince says this.

He says. Although it's not directly

evident, Job inadvertently is covering his entire family,

himself included with the blood of the lamb like Moses did on

the doorposts in Egypt. Which meant that Satan, who

roams around like a roaring lung, seeking whom he may

devour, finds a line in the sand dipped in the blood of the lamb,

and he realizes and recognizes I may not devour.

Such as the power of the blood that it keeps, it holds at Bay

the Destroyer. And the plague of.

Death, Paul says. Do you?

Really think your good. Works your little bit of your.

Quitting smoking is going. To do that.

Do you understand the? Power of the blood.

I remember I did a wedding recently.

I've been walking a long journey with a young man and he finally

got married and we're having a bride just before the wedding.

And I was chatting to his father, and I heard a story I'd

never heard. Before because.

At one stage, he'd gotten extremely depressed.

And he was. Rather suicide.

The dad. Said to me night after night I

would stand at my the foot of my son's bed while he slept and

just asked. The blood of.

Jesus to be upon him. To keep the Destroyer.

At Bay you remember Rory preaching last year on Easter

application of the blood. I remember him saying how the

cross, the crown of thorns, was laid on Jesus head and as that

blood began to run, covered his mind.

We have access and we were. Able to apply.

The blood to our mind, his eyes, ears and lips and all the way

down to his. Privates.

The bad is the power of the blood.

And So what I've started doing, I cannot but enter a day.

Covered by the blood. Of the Lamb I find myself over

and over. I'm like, Lord, this mind of

mine. Is so full of insecurities.

Is so full of Mondays and so trying to figure.

Would you ask for the blood? Of the lamb to be over my mind

and these. These ears.

These. Ears that seem to hear the lies

of the enemy. Would you cover it with the

blood? These eyes ADHD send me anything

that moves with legs. Lord the.

Blood of the. Lamb over my eyes and this mouth

that I can. Tear you to shreds.

Because my wit and my sharp cynical.

Dark. Language, the blood and this.

Heart this, Heart that. Lungs and lusts for and crave.

For oh, the blood. And these hands, everything that

touched. These feet everywhere they go,

Oh. Jesus, I need.

The blood I dare. Not trust in this frame.

This good works this effort or as Paul says why on?

Earth would you trust in the blade when you have the blood?

Do you know the power of the? Blood.

Oh, this? Is one of my favourites.

I know I'm properly geeking out, but I've got some time, so we're

going to jump straight into this is Exodus 24.

Then the Lord said to Moses, Come up to the Lord you, and

Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and 70 of the elders of Israel.

You are to worship where? At a.

Distance but Moses. Alone is to approach the Lord.

The others must not come near, and the people may not come up

with him. Moses then wrote down everything

the Lord had said. He got up early the next morning

and built an altar at the foot of the mountain and set up 12

stone pillars representing the 12 tribes of Israel.

Then he sends young Israelite men, and they offered burnt

offerings and sacrificed young bulls as fellowship offerings to

the Lord. Moses took half of the blood.

Put it in bowls and the other half he splashed against the

altar. Verse 19 when Moses had

proclaimed every command of the. Lord to all the people he took

the blood of the calves together with water.

Scarlet wool and branches of hyssop and sprinkled the scroll

and all the people. And he said, this is the blood

of the covenant which God has commanded.

You to keep. See this?

God hasn't changed his mind. About the blood.

So listen, I'm going to give you the.

Law, but before you. Even open it, I'm going to cover

it with the blood, I'm going to tell.

You how to sacrifice but. Before you even do one, I'm

going to cover. It with the blood.

And I'm going to. Call you to obey.

And to apply the. Word but before you do it.

I'm going to even put. The blood.

On you, on your ears and your eyes, and your heart has to be

under the nothing. But the blood?

But then the crazy thing. This is Exodus 24.

When you go to Exodus 25, things change.

See, because up until now Moses has been up and down the

mountain, up and down the mountain, everyone else from

afar. And then it says in.

In Exodus 25, the Lord said to. Moses, tell the Israelites.

To bring me an offering, you're to receive the offering from me,

from everyone whose heart prompts them to give in verse 8

and have them make a sanctuary for me and I.

Will dwell. Among them.

Why could God? Dwell among them.

Because of the. Blood.

Up until then, they hadn't been sprinkled with the blood.

Once it happens, no longer up and down the mountain.

Now your heavenly Father comes down the mountain.

To be with you, do you know? The blood of the Lamb.

That draws the. Presence of God in your life.

We're always. Talking about the holy.

Spirit. Right after this, the Tabernacle

gets built and it's blood from start to finish.

But you know where the Shekinah glory is?

The very presence of God. It's in the.

Holy of Holies. Above the mercy seat.

You know what's there? It's because.

That is where the blood is. Sprinkled every year.

The Holy, the High Priest. Goes in once a.

Year puts blood. On the Mercy seat and our

Heavenly Father just can't seem to help himself.

But he's attracted to the blood. Of the Lamb.

Where the blood is. That's where the presence is.

Do you know the? Power of the blood.

Or he's still banking on the blade, trying really, really

hard. Just do more you can do better

on. Invite you to abandon yourself

to the blood of the lamb. And that's just the Old

Testament. That's just shadow.

The ghost of a shadow of a whisper.

Of what is about to come. We haven't even gotten into the

New Testament, which you're about to do now.

And we start in John one right at the very beginning we were

introduced. Behold.

The. Lamb of God.

Takes away the sin of the world right in Page one, the.

Lamb of God. Who takes away the sins?

Of the world. And I don't know if you had this

experience, you know, when you went to buy that new car and

it's like no one in Pretoria is a Fortuner.

You know, I'm going to really going to have a status now in

the cities streets and then you drive down and there's just

Fortuners. Absolutely everything.

Well, OK, maybe a bad example, because they really are.

Yeah, you buy that Fiat. You know, and all of a sudden

you see it everywhere. It's the same with the blood.

So once I saw it once, I can't, I can't turn a page without

seeing the blood. I can't have a conversation

without hearing about. The blood.

Reading between the lines. It's like the.

Whispers of the Heavenlies. Have just saturated the pages.

So bear with me. The blood of the covenant was

poured out for the forgiveness of sins.

Matthew 2726. The blood.

Reconciles us to the father Colossians.

One the blood cleanses US1 John One the blood sanctifies us in

Hebrews. Sanctifies.

And now this is a nice big Bible college Christianese word

sanctifies means. To make you like Jesus.

See, what we do is we spend most of our days trying to be like

Jesus. What would Jesus do?

Scripture says no, no, no. It's the blood.

That sanctifies you. You want to be like Jesus.

Come under the blood makes us holy and righteous.

Hebrews 13 We are redeemed by the blood.

We sang it over and over again this morning.

One, Peter, One We're justified. By the blood.

Oh. This is one of my.

Favorites justified? Another big Bible.

College word. So it's.

Just as if I'd never sinned. You know why you're trying?

Really. Really.

Hard to be really, really good. It's because you've sinned.

You've blown it and you think, oh, I've got to cover that thing

up a little bit. I mean, you know, you blow it.

First thing you do is you avoid Christians and church and life

group. You're sitting in the corner

there, you know, don't come near me.

You're not praying, You're not asking for forgiveness because

now there's some stuff that you've got to do, there's some

hoops you've got to jump through, you know you.

Can't just go straight back into the presence of God.

You've you've you've got to feel bad.

And you've got to when I was in Bible college.

You had to break your CDs because.

It was heavy metal, you know, and you you smashed your laptop.

Because of what you looked at, you got to do.

Some stuffs and then you kind of, you know, time passes and

you think I can go, but when you go to life group, you don't.

Participate. Sort of hard.

There, you know, because you've got to be like I'm such a, such

a loser. I've blown it again.

You don't contribute, you don't look anyone in the eyes.

And then when you come to church, you sit.

Right at the very back house that everybody could have you

here. Slowly but surely you work your

way down and then think, OK, he's not going to blip me now I

can maybe carry on the. Bible says you're justified just

as if. I'd not looked, not done, not

listened, Not said not. Justified by the blood.

Why do you want the? Blade, as I like to say, How

dumb can you be and still breathe when we have the blood?

Welcome to my Monday. The blood atones for our sins.

Romans 3. The blood gives us confidence to

enter the most holy place. Hebrews 10 But I want to I want

to I want to let you marinate in in 4.

Last verses as we close. The first is Ephesians 2, but

now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far.

Away. Have been brought nearby the

blood of Christ. Are you far away?

Maybe you don't know what you were thinking and agreeing to

come to church on a Sunday. You know that can change in an

instant, simply. By the blood.

Which means you don't have to go home and change a thing before

you can enter boldly. Before you can draw near.

All you need is. The blood.

Hebrews 13 Now May the God. Of peace you through the.

Blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our.

Lord Jesus, take a look at that. Through the blood brought Jesus

back. From the dead, what's dead in

your life? Maybe you're the person that.

Rory is talking about. Where you have been beaten at

the hands of someone, maybe been beaten at the hands of your

guilt and shame and disappointment.

The blood is able to open the. Grave and bring you back.

To life. Maybe it's a wayward child and

you try to be the. Fixer upper.

If I can just. Quote the perfect Bible verse.

If I can just love him and more if I can buy some gift or

whatever, No, no. The blood will bring him out of

the grave. Revelations 1/5 to him who loves

us and has. Freed us.

From our sins by. His blood.

Did you see it yet? Why the blade?

Paul says. If you bank on the.

Blade to be free. From your sins then Christ has

no benefit. The Son of God has no benefit to

you. Why would you not openly?

Actively receive the blood. And I close with this one,

Revelation 5 and they sang a new song saying You are.

Worthy to take the. Scroll and to open it.

Seals because you were. Slain and with your.

Blood you. Purchased for God, persons from

every tribe and language and people and nation.

Which means it's all likes to say.

Young and old, rich and poor, Single, Married, Widowed.

Divorced, Educated. Uneducated.

Black whites. Indian.

Chinese. Purchased with his blood.

It's. NOT like.

You get that blood, but we get the good blood.

We are all equal for the. Blood of the Lamb.

Tyler Stetten tells the story. Climbed into an Uber.

That's what everyone does when they climb into an Uber.

So, like, hi. Hi.

Hi. Thank you.

Thank you. I'm Stephen.

Thank you all Going in the right direction.

Good. And then you're still looking

out the window and out of the blue, the driver says, you know,

I used to smoke marijuana. Used to.

Like, a lot. Like it was a proper problem.

So for years I. Could not I tried.

As hard as I could blade just. Could not get free.

It's OK. So then someone climbed into my

car. I don't know why I wasn't

telling anyone. I was kind of ashamed of it,

actually. Didn't want my family to know.

But somehow I just found myself telling this guy, you know, I've

got this problem, can't stop smoking marijuana, he said.

The guy said nothing. He just listened.

And when I dropped him off, he sort of stuck his head and said,

hey man, I really believe today you're not going to smoke.

He said you won't. Believe it, I didn't smoke that

day, actually, he said. I.

Haven't smoked since he. Said actually.

The smell of marijuana makes me want want to throw up.

It makes me. Nauseous, so.

Tyler's sort of sitting there because the guy's now finished

with the story. He's like, so why do you think

when the guy was in the car he suddenly we're free from from

your addiction? He said.

I think that guy prayed, Tyler says.

Yeah, I think you're right. He.

Said. Who do you think?

He prayed to, probably Jesus. I think you're right.

So what's your name? My name is Muhammad.

Where are you from, Muhammad? Afghanistan.

Are you a praying man? Yeah, yeah, yeah, I've got that.

My rugged in the boot of. The car pray 5.

Times a day. So.

So you think he prayed to Jesus? You know, I think he prayed to

Jesus, set in silence, said Mama.

Can I ask you a very random question?

Why did you tell me that? Story, I said.

Well. I don't know.

I guess when you climbed in the car, I just felt something that

I hadn't felt since that guy climbed in the car.

He was encountering the power. Of the blood.

He just didn't know it yet. Tyler said What?

Can I tell you why? Can I introduce?

You to this Jesus. And I say all of that because in

Galatians, it says if you're counting on circumcision to make

you right with God, then Christ is no benefit to you.

It's not you. Yeah, it's you, Yella.

Plural. See, because the weightiest

thing about this verse has gotten behind all these defenses

is what he's saying is if we are not.

People of the blood. We are of no use to anybody else

when you have the blood, when you're under.

The blood when you're. Banking on the blood when the

power. Of the gospel has a hold of your

heart. When you have surrendered your

life to what Christ has done on the cross, it doesn't just

benefit you. Benefits Yellow, Yellow, Family

Yellow. Caric Yellow Stud.

Your family. Your church, your city.

What he's saying is the reason why I end.

With purchase for God persons from every tribe.

And language and people and nation.

Is because This is why we take the blood.

Into our city. Because the blade.

Means nothing. The city has enough.

Blade has enough religion. Has enough.

Just do better try harder you. Too much of A failure.

Jesus would never accept. You into his church?

The city. Your family, the departments you

work in, and the Uber you climb into needs you to understand the

power of the. Blood and to apply it daily.