The Pathway to Peace

[0:00] I present to you the answer for the world's main problem. The answer, the pathway for global peace is Christ.

[0:12] ! He is the one. And more especially through the blood of His cross, the work that He effected at the cross gives us new life. He's redeemed us, He's reconciled us, He's received us and it's all, thank God, it's all because of the blood of His cross. Amen?

[0:30] Can you believe that this morning? Who believes that today? Yes, amen. He's redeemed us, reconciled us, He's received us and it's all because of the work of the blood of His cross.

[0:42] Do you know the way to peace? Peace with God is by way of the blood. Now, out witnessing yesterday, we came across a lady, an older lady, and she was honest with me.

[0:55] She said, look, I'm on the way out. I'm on the way out, you know, I've only got so much time. You know, she was honest. She knew that she didn't have long to go. She said, I'm on the way out.

[1:09] And I said to her then, she needs to consider whether she's on the way up or down. So if you're on the way out, there's only two directions, the way up or the way down.

[1:21] And friends, you know, a bit light-hearted way of putting it, but it's true, isn't it? You're either going up to heaven or you're going down to hell. There's only two ways about it, basically. And either you have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, you know the way to heaven, or you have no peace with God.

[1:40] It's one or the other. You're still His enemy. And you're still at war with God, because that's how we're born. We're at war with Him. The minute we're born, we're at war with God. And friends, if you have refused His terms of surrender, you've refused His offer of free pardon, you are rightly condemned. And you're on the way to hell, the way down.

[2:02] These are serious things, serious matters. How can we have peace with God? It's the ultimate and absolute vital question of life. Do you know Him? Do you know Him?

[2:16] Have you got peace with God? Notice verse 20, we read that it tells us, having made peace through the blood of His cross. Thank God it's by His doing.

[2:30] He enables it. He affects it. He promises it. He secures it. It's through the blood of His cross. Through the blood of His cross. Not by any working of our own, but through the blood of His cross.

[2:42] Peace is affected by that means, and that means only, and it's available still. Real peace. It's because of the shed blood. It's because of the blood shed of our Lord.

[2:55] And this peace is made possible for us, for you and me, to know that ourselves. Not through the blood of bulls and of goats and such, but through the shed blood of the precious Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ.

[3:09] As John the Baptist said, Behold, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. We must find this peace because without it, we are truly condemned.

[3:20] Says the soul that sinneth, it shall die. We are alienated of our own natural selves. We are enemies of God in our mind.

[3:32] Yet He has effected a great change, a great peace. And friends, brothers and sisters today, it's His work at the cross that we want to be thoughtful of.

[3:43] His blood shed that transports us from death unto life. His life, His life-giving blood. Friends, it says that the life of the flesh is in the blood.

[3:56] His blood is life-giving. It's life-giving for us. It brings us new life. A saved life. And we can know a peace, a peace beyond human comprehension. A peace beyond any manufacturing of our own or our own thinking or doing.

[4:11] But simply, His blood shed is our trust. It must be that. And you can know peace, peace with your very maker.

[4:25] Romans 5 verse 1, it says, Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, there's a promise there, people. Amen.

[4:37] Justified, it says, by faith, you have peace with God. It's a possession. You have it. And the blood of the Lamb of God, it makes this peace possible. And friends, we think of it now. We contemplate it now.

[4:50] We sing songs about it now. And friends, it will be the theme of Heaven's song. The theme of Heaven's song. As we read in Revelation 5 verse 9, it says, The blood of the Lamb is Heaven's theme song, if you like.

[5:04] It says there, Revelation 5 verse 9, And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book and to open the seals thereof. For thou art slain and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation.

[5:19] Now, we're a cosmopolitan lot here this morning, from many tongues and tribes and kindred and nation, different nations and cultures, and we're one family in Christ.

[5:31] And friends, the blood of Christ makes this happen. It's our sanctification is by the blood. Our holiness, it's all because of the blood. Likewise, the whole Christian life, from go to woe, from womb to tomb, the blood of Christ is our plea.

[5:47] It's our need. It's our help. It's our saving. It all hinges on the blood of Christ. And we see many pictures and symbols about the blood, as we see the meanings throughout the tabernacle, the temple, the typology, especially of the blood.

[6:05] It's this theme, this thread that runs right through your Bible. And the blood is the way to peace. Just some further thoughts about the blood. And in particular, just some considerations about the sprinkling of the blood.

[6:19] Someone has commented that on the great day of atonement, there were seven sprinklings, seven sprinklings of the blood on this great day of the atonement.

[6:30] And, for example, we see about redemption there. Right through. And the way to peace I put to you this morning is because of the pathway of the blood.

[6:42] It's because of the blood marked way. When you see the tabernacle, and I know I was talking to James' dad lately about the tabernacle, and he was talking lightheartedly about he just wants to get inside the outer court.

[6:59] But, friends, we all can actually go into the very inner court, into the Holy of Holies. It's not just the great high priest now that every believer can enter in. But notice here just some thoughts about the seven sprinklings of the blood on the great day of the atonement.

[7:13] So this blood marked way started right from the doorway of the tabernacle, through the two veils into the holiest of all, right onto the very mercy seat. We see blood, blood, blood seven times.

[7:26] Redemption is painted right through this blood marked way. The bread blood shed. It was splattered with blood. The whole place was splattered, was sprinkled with blood.

[7:38] And that speaks to us of the very precious blood of our great God and Saviour. We see firstly that it was at the foot of the brazen altar, the bronze altar. It says there, Leviticus 4 verse 18, it reads, And he shall put some of the blood upon the horns of the altar which is before the Lord, that is in the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall pour out all the blood at the bottom of the altar of the burnt offering, which is at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

[8:07] So as he stepped into the doorway, the very first point of entry into the tabernacle, the blood was there at the foot of the brazen altar. And then we read on that it was also round about upon the altar.

[8:22] Second place was, it says, He shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his fingers seven times. Seven, notice again, seven. He'll sprinkle of the blood upon it. This is round about upon the altar seven times.

[8:35] Seven times upon the altar, the brazen altar. And it says he shall cleanse it and hallow it, make it holy from the uncleanness of the children of Israel. That's Leviticus 16 verse 19.

[8:48] So that's number two. Then we see number three. Another place was on the horns of the brazen altar. So thirdly, the sprinkling was placed upon the horns of the brazen altar.

[8:59] We read Leviticus 16, 18. He shall go out unto the altar that is before the Lord and make an atonement for it. And shall take of the blood of the bullock and of the blood of the goat and put it, it says, put it upon the horns of the altar round about.

[9:15] So that's the third time. Then we go to the fourth time is on the horns of the golden altar. So the other altar, the golden altar, as you're getting closer to the center of the, you know, the most holy place, the horns of the golden altar, another place for the sprinkling of the blood.

[9:33] And it says there that Aaron shall make an atonement upon the horns of it once a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonements. Once in the year shall he make atonement upon it throughout your generations.

[9:45] It is most holy unto the Lord. Number four there. Then we go next one. Number five. Another place for the sprinkling as you're getting closer and closer to the holy, the holy of holies.

[9:57] It says there of Leviticus 4, 17, that the next sprinkling, the fifth one is before the veil. So as the priest would get closer and closer before the veil, before the curtain.

[10:11] And it says there, and the priest shall dip his finger in some of the blood and know to sprinkle it seven times before the altar. Before the Lord, even before the veil.

[10:23] So he shall sprinkle it seven times before the Lord, even before the veil. And then we see a sixth time of sprinkling is on the very mercy seat. So you're getting closer and closer right now to the very holy of holies, right there to the very mercy seat, above the Ark of the Covenant.

[10:41] You can see a picture there, as it were, of blood upon the mercy seat. Mercy seat. And it reads there, Leviticus 16, 14, the sixth time it says that he was to sprinkle it before the mercy seat.

[10:55] So the mercy seat was the top of the Ark of the Covenant, where, you know, the ultimate sacrifice was made, the very most holy sacrifice of the Day of Atonement.

[11:06] And it says, and he shall take of the blood of the bullock and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy seat eastward. And before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times. So here we are before the mercy seat.

[11:19] And then we see the seventh time is that it is on the mercy seat, on the mercy seat, upon the mercy seat. So the point I'm making this morning, friends, it's all about the blood.

[11:31] It's all about the blood. The old covenant, it's all about the blood. The new covenant, it's all about the blood. Salvation is the same right through the word of God. Some are trying to distinguish that you're saved by works at some place.

[11:44] No, you're not saved by works any place. The only work we're saved by is the finished work. Amen. It's the blood of Christ that saves, whether in prospect or in rear view.

[11:56] You know, it's right, the blood. Salvation has always been really by faith in the blood of Christ, not by any works of ourselves. It must be the blood marked way.

[12:07] The pathway to the mercy seat was the blood marked way. And so, friends, we see the sevenfold sprinkling here that we just touched on. And you could say much more, I'm sure.

[12:18] We're just scratching the surface. But the point is this sevenfold, this seven times sprinkling that speaks to us of the blood, the necessity of the blood, the vitality of the blood, the blood marked way.

[12:34] That is the pathway to peace. And it always has been, it always will be. It's still the way, the way to God, to his mercy. It's the only way. It's the way of the cross, the blood of his cross.

[12:45] And notice some have commented, likewise, there was a sevenfold sprinkling of the blood in the work of Christ in our redemption. Think of it too, the sevenfold sprinkling, if you like, of the very precious blood of our precious Saviour.

[13:02] The sevenfold sprinkling of the blood of Christ. Also, first at the garden of Gethsemane, as he sweated, as it were, great drops of blood. There was that breaking up of the blood vessels in Gethsemane's garden.

[13:16] Then we see number two. We see the sprinkling of his blood in the sense of his bruising as he was bashed and beaten and thumped and hit. There was internal bleeding, bruising.

[13:27] And it says he was bruised for our iniquities, number two. Thirdly, we see that he was beaten with a whip scourging his back, tearing it to ribbons.

[13:38] He took the stripes on his back. That was the third sprinkling of the blood. Then we see number four. As they thrust that crowny thorn upon his head. A representative of the thorns of the curse of Genesis 3 verse 18.

[13:54] The very curse of our sin. What a picture that was. That the very thorns of the curse, the fall of man, was thrust upon his head and beaten into his scalp, causing another sprinkling of blood.

[14:08] And then we see fifthly. As they hammered his hands. As they drove the hammer and hammered the nails into his blessed hands. Number five is another sprinkling of his blood.

[14:20] Then we see number six. Number six, as they pierced his feet. Then, again, there was a sprinkling at his feet of his blood. And then seventhly, as they thrust the spear into his side.

[14:32] Friends, it's a sevenfold sprinkling. Amen. It's a sevenfold sprinkling. Glory. Yes. It always was and is for us now. The blood, the necessity of the blood.

[14:44] The sevenfold sprinkling in the many types and pictures of the old covenant. We see the blood, the necessity of it as the pathway to peace and now fulfilled in Christ at his cross.

[14:56] It's the one and only answer, friends. The one and only answer for global peace. For personal peace. It's the blood. The blood. The blood. The blood. Christ, the precious blood of our Saviour.

[15:09] And God has accomplished it all and accomplished it all at the cross. The blood of his cross. Friends, the blood is still as powerful today and needful for everyone.

[15:20] It's the only way to be saved is because of the blood of Christ shared as that sacrifice on our part. because the wages of our sin is death.

[15:32] Someone had to die. Someone has to die for your sin. It's either you or Christ on your part. And the wages of sin is death. Christ can pay that penalty for you by his blood.

[15:43] So we can have fellowship, friends, with God today because of the shed blood. Absolutely take heart in that. Each one, we must, each one of us, tread the blood marked way.

[15:55] As they trod the pathway through the gateway into the very veil, into the very holy of holies, into the very mercy seat, and there the blood was shed and it was sprinkled right from beginning through to the very holy of holies, to the very core and centre point of that picture of redemption for us, for you and me.

[16:20] Friends, let's be encouraged as we think of it. We must, each one of us, tread the blood marked way.