WEBVTT

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 Well, thank you, Graham, and very good morning to you all.

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 It is wonderful to be back to church again this Sunday morning, and I trust that God

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 will bless all of us as we look to his word.

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 Let me test how well you were listening there.

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 What was it that Graham said just before he introduced that last song and made reference

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 to me coming and speaking?

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 Did anybody catch the little phrase?

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 Graham, we're seeing if anybody was listening to a word you said.

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 Come on, what did he say?

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 He said, please remain standing, was his phrase.

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 Please remain standing.

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 As we look at what's quite a big and very significant passage from Hebrews, I want you to bear in

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 mind that phrase, please remain standing.

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 Because what we're going to be confronted by was an old system where people were trying

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 to get right with God.

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 But what was required was for the priests to remain standing.

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 Okay?

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 What was required was for something to be done time and time and time again.

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 And they could never really sit and rest.

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 Constantly they had to remain standing.

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 But look out for it as we read.

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 Because what we're going to read is that Jesus didn't have to remain standing.

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 Jesus in this passage did something once and for all.

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 And what we're told is that having done that once and for all thing, he sat down.

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 Jesus was the one who was able to sit down.

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 Because the work was done.

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 The task was complete.

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 And unlike those who had to remain standing, he was able to sit.

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 And at the heart of the message that I want us to hear this morning is an invitation from

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 Jesus to us to join him in sitting.

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 To join him in resting on all he has done.

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 Because I reckon many of us in our hearts and in our lives and in our attempts to be right

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 with God, sometimes a bit like those priests of old and a bit like the instruction from

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 Graham, remain standing.

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 Not physically, of course.

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 Many of us spend far too much of the time sitting around all day.

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 I had a special birthday recently and my wife got me an Apple watch.

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 And such is our sedentary lifestyle that this watch reminds me every hour to stand up.

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 Because apparently it does get a little bit frustrating if you're in a meeting that

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 happens to go on for more than an hour and it starts to buzz and says, it's time to stand.

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 But this watch is constantly telling me it's time to stand.

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 Well, the thrust of this message is that while that may be absolutely correct in terms of

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 looking after our physical bodies, when it comes to our relationship with God, it's not

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 time to stand.

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 It's time to look at all that Jesus has done.

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 To rely completely on that.

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 To rest on him.

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 And him alone.

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 And we can cease from all our struggles and strivings and standing.

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 And instead we can rely completely on him.

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 That's a bit of context.

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 I want us to read Hebrews.

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 Hebrews chapter 9.

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 We're going to read right through from Hebrews 9 to chapter 10 verse 18.

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 Please stick with us and let's think as we read about all the different ways in which what

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 Jesus has done are described.

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 And then as we talk, we'll try and unpack some of these different, really rich descriptions

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 of what Jesus has done.

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 Hebrews chapter 9.

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 It'll be on the screen or do read it on your Bible if you've got it either physically or

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 electronically.

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 Hebrews chapter 9.

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 We're reading from the NIV.

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 Now, the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary.

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 A tabernacle was set up.

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 In its first room were the lampstand and the table with its consecrated bread.

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 This was called the holy place.

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 Behind the second curtain was a room called the most holy place, which had the golden

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 altar of incense and the gold-covered Ark of the Covenant.

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 This Ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron's staff that had budded, and the stone tablets

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 of the covenant.

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 Above the Ark were the cherubim of the glory, overshadowing the atonement cover, but we cannot

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 discuss these things in detail now.

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 When everything had been arranged like this, the priests entered regularly into the outer

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 room to carry on their ministry.

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 But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year and never without

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 blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins of the people, sorry, for the sins

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 the people had committed in ignorance.

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 The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the most holy place had not yet been

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 disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still functioning.

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 This is an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being

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 offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper.

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 They're only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings, external regulations

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 applying until the time of the new order.

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 Verse 11, but when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here,

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 he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands.

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 That is to say, is not part of this creation.

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 He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves, but he entered the most holy

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 place once for all by his own blood.

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 So obtaining eternal redemption, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer

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 sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean, sanctify them.

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 So they are outwardly clean.

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 How much more than will the blood of Christ who through the eternal spirit offered himself

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 unblemished to God cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death so that we may serve

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 the living God.

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 For this reason, Christ is the mediator of a new covenant that those who are called may

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 receive the promised eternal inheritance now that he has died as a ransom to set them

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 free from the sins committed under the first covenant.

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 In the case of a will, it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it because

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 a will is in force only when somebody has died.

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 It never takes effect while the one who made it is living.

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 This is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood.

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 When Moses had proclaimed every command of the law to all the people, he took the blood

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 of calves together with water, scarlet wool and branches of hyssop and sprinkled the scroll

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 and all the people.

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 He said, this is the blood of the covenant which God has commanded you to keep.

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 In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in

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 its ceremonies.

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 In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood and without the shedding

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 of blood, there is no forgiveness.

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 It was necessary then for the copies of heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices,

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 but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.

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 For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true

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 one.

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 He entered heaven itself now to appear for us in God's presence.

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 Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again the way the high priest enters the

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 most holy place every year with blood that is not his own.

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 Otherwise, Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world.

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 But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice

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 of himself.

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 Just as the people are destined to die once and after that to face judgment, so Christ was

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 sacrificed once to take away the sins of many.

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 And he will appear a second time not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting

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 for him.

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 Chapter 10.

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 The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming, not the realities themselves.

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 For this reason, it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year,

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 make perfect those who draw near to worship.

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 Otherwise, would they not have stopped being offered?

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 For the worshipers would have been cleansed once and for all and would no longer have felt

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 guilty for their sins.

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 But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins.

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 It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sin.

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 Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said, sacrifice and offering you did not

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 desire, but a body you prepared for me.

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 With burnt offerings and sin offerings, you were not pleased.

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 Then I said, here I am.

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 It is written about me in the scroll.

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 I have come to do your will, my God.

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 First, he said, sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire,

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 nor were you pleased with them, though they were offered in accordance with the law.

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 Then he said, here I am.

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 I have come to do your will.

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 He sets aside the first to establish the second.

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 And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

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 Day after day, every priest stands and performs his religious duties.

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 Again and again, he offers the same sacrifices which can never take away sins.

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 But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.

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 And since that time, he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool.

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 For by one sacrifice, he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

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 The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this.

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 First, he says, this is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord.

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 I will put my laws in their hearts and I will write them on their minds.

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 Then he adds, their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.

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 And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.

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 Amen.

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 Well, there's a huge amount in those verses, isn't there?

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 We could take all day or we could have a whole series seeking to unpack all that is there

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 about the Old Testament arrangements and about their insufficiency and about the significance of the death of Jesus Christ.

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 I do want you to remember these passages and potentially go back to them.

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 When you find that what we believe and teach in this church about the death of Jesus Christ

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 is under question or under attack by those round about us.

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 Because there are many, many, many who will suggest that we are getting it wrong

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 when we emphasize the once for all significance of the shedding of the blood of Jesus Christ.

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 When we emphasize the necessity of his sacrifice as the only way in which sins can be forgiven permanently,

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 absolutely, once for all.

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 There'll be many both without and within the broad sphere of Christianity who will question it.

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 And I've found myself in discussions where powerful arguments can be made

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 that perhaps suggest that we're making a bit too much of the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ

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 as the only way in which sins can be forgiven.

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 If you find yourselves in those discussions, folks, do go back to Hebrews 9 and 10

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 and remind yourself of the truth of God's word that's set out here,

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 which we'll only be able to look at ever so briefly.

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 But I think it will stand as in good stead in defeating some of the arguments that might come our way,

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 which though superficially attractive, carry with them grave danger.

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 Because if we're relying on anything other than the sacrifice of Jesus Christ

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 as the means of our salvation and as the only way to get right with God,

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 then we're in dangerous territory indeed.

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 First 10 verses of chapter 9, 9, 1 to 10, are basically setting out then

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 the arrangements that the people of God, the Israelites, had been subject to for many, many, many years

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 since they were instituted in this first covenant that Graham talked to us about last year, last week rather.

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 And briefly what they're setting out is that of course there were ways put in place

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 where people could enter God's presence, but they were highly restrictive.

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 And indeed in terms of that most holy place, that inner sanctuary where the ark was

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 and where God's presence was most fully known, only one person could go, only the high priest.

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 And he could only go only once every year.

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 And he could only go following the shedding of blood.

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 It was incredibly restrictive.

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 And verse 8 says that what was the purpose of all of this?

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 It was in many ways to show that the way into the most holy place had not yet been disclosed.

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 And verse 10 refers to things that were put in place until the time of the new order.

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 So it was an arrangement that was necessary and that was helpful for the people

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 and that goes on to be unpacked in various ways as all this animal blood was shed.

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 But it wasn't the real lasting thing.

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 As I read that, it reminded me a bit of Dundee at the moment.

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 I don't know if any of you have been to Dundee recently.

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 I think it's a city that's becoming more and more beautiful.

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 But as you try to navigate your way along the waterfront in Dundee,

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 there's this incredibly complicated temporary arrangement of roads.

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 And you never really know where you are.

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 And if you're suddenly about to come to a dead end,

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 and if you're suddenly about to turn the wrong way,

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 or if you're suddenly about to find yourself going over the bridge and ending up in St Andrews.

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 Now why is there this incredibly complex temporary arrangement in Dundee?

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 It's because there's so much development going on,

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 and there's about to be what's going to be a magnificent new arrangement.

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 That V&A museum that's going to appear resplendent on the waterfront of Dundee,

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 along with lots of other things that will allow that city to really shine in all of its glory.

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 But meanwhile, we've got this incredibly complex, necessary,

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 but somewhat frustrating and somewhat tedious temporary arrangement.

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 Well, I don't know.

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 Maybe you can critique my theology a little bit.

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 But as far as I'm concerned, the closest I can get to understanding those first few verses is Dundee.

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 Okay?

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 But what we get to as we read on from verse 9 is not the temporary arrangement,

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 but the permanent arrangement that God has put in place for each of us to enter in

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 so that we don't need to rely any longer on the temporary arrangement.

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 And it's that permanent arrangement that we need to really focus on and spend our time on.

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 And in that permanent arrangement from verse 11 of chapter 9 right through to verse 18 of chapter 10,

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 we hear through many different ways the significance of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

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 Now, there is one word that appears an awful lot as we read through chapter 9, verse 11 onwards.

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 Graham last week talked to us about just saying what you see.

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 And there, Graham, the word you kept seeing was covenant, wasn't it?

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 Yeah?

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 Okay.

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 Did anybody see one word being repeated time and time and time again as we read from verse 11 onwards of chapter 9?

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 Blood.

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 Blood.

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 Thank you.

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 Blood is there at least 12 times.

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 Blood.

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 Blood.

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 Blood.

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 Blood.

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 Blood.

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 Blood.

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 Time and again, you do.

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 Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins.

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 In about 10 of the references to blood, it's a focus on the blood of animals.

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 And in two of the references to blood, it's a focus on the shed blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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 Now, I've discovered whenever I'm speaking, if I get anything vaguely to do with medical stuff, I need to consult one of the 35 doctors in our church.

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 And I always get much more insight from them.

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 And so I consulted David and asked him about the significance of blood.

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 I'm sure many of you could write a PhD thesis on the significance of blood.

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 But I was reminded that blood is absolutely essential for life.

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 The blood that is coursing through your body just now is absolutely crucial for you to have life.

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 But the other thing that I didn't realize until I had my short medical lesson is that blood is also absolutely essential for removing impurity in the body.

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 So constantly blood is not only giving life, blood is also taking away all of the bad stuff.

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 And without stretching it too far, I think as we read here, we see that that was part of the reason for the shedding of blood.

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 Blood of animals was shed in order to both cover up or remove or clear for some time the sin of the people.

00:17:15.359 --> 00:17:18.620
 But then we see the massive significance of Jesus' blood.

00:17:18.619 --> 00:17:20.899
 And I'd like us to look at that first of all.

00:17:21.000 --> 00:17:26.099
 Let's read again verses 13 to 14.

00:17:26.379 --> 00:17:38.199
 The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean.

00:17:39.679 --> 00:17:44.539
 Okay, so that blood was shed and it did perform a purpose.

00:17:44.839 --> 00:17:47.959
 It made them outwardly clean.

00:17:48.619 --> 00:18:05.979
 How much more then will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death so that we may serve the living God?

00:18:05.980 --> 00:18:09.839
 And sorry, there's one other reference to the blood of Jesus that I should have read again.

00:18:10.140 --> 00:18:11.120
 And it's verse 12.

00:18:11.539 --> 00:18:21.920
 He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves, but he entered the most holy place once for all by his own blood.

00:18:22.339 --> 00:18:24.360
 So obtaining eternal redemption.

00:18:24.359 --> 00:18:33.539
 Verse 12 and verse 14 are the two verses in that passage where we read about the significance of the blood of Jesus Christ.

00:18:33.539 --> 00:18:37.399
 Shed in verse 12 to obtain eternal redemption.

00:18:37.959 --> 00:18:48.059
 And verse 14, the blood of Christ, he offered himself to cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death.

00:18:48.059 --> 00:18:56.059
 I've got four angles to offer to you this morning on the death of Jesus Christ.

00:18:56.059 --> 00:19:02.960
 Four things which I think we need to understand from this passage about the death of Jesus Christ.

00:19:03.519 --> 00:19:08.259
 And the first is that through his death, he makes us clean.

00:19:08.259 --> 00:19:19.980
 Crucially, those sacrifices offered by the animals, we're told we're able to make them clean outwardly.

00:19:20.619 --> 00:19:21.980
 That's there in verse 13.

00:19:22.599 --> 00:19:28.379
 But when it comes to verse 14, we're told that he can make us clean through and through.

00:19:29.099 --> 00:19:34.859
 He can cleanse our consciences, verse 14, from acts that lead to death.

00:19:34.859 --> 00:19:44.500
 If you look up at verse 9 of chapter 9, it says that those gifts and sacrifices were not able to clear the conscience of the worshipper.

00:19:44.839 --> 00:19:48.839
 They were only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings.

00:19:48.959 --> 00:19:58.919
 So there's a real distinction in this passage between being outwardly clean and being thoroughly cleansed right into the heart.

00:19:58.920 --> 00:20:08.940
 When I was speaking to John about it earlier in the week, the illustration that came to mind was that idea of, in some ways, if this nasty stain appears on your carpet.

00:20:09.940 --> 00:20:13.039
 And you make various attempts to get rid of it.

00:20:13.060 --> 00:20:19.259
 I don't know if some of you had the experience where you get this wonderful product which claims to be able to remove all stains.

00:20:19.400 --> 00:20:22.380
 So you spray it and you work away on it.

00:20:22.380 --> 00:20:25.000
 And it seems as though you've had a great result.

00:20:25.200 --> 00:20:28.620
 Because at the time, you cannot see that stain any longer.

00:20:28.720 --> 00:20:29.320
 What happens?

00:20:29.800 --> 00:20:32.600
 You come back to it a few days or a week later.

00:20:32.740 --> 00:20:34.820
 And the stain is reappearing.

00:20:35.160 --> 00:20:37.740
 So the cleaning has only been, in some ways, superficial.

00:20:37.960 --> 00:20:43.480
 And I know the most tempting thing for us to do in that sort of situation is eventually just put a rug over it.

00:20:44.020 --> 00:20:45.460
 Just cover it up.

00:20:45.460 --> 00:20:49.200
 And that way we won't see the stain any longer.

00:20:49.660 --> 00:20:54.840
 And it feels to me that both of those things are a bit similar to what was going on in that old arrangement.

00:20:55.200 --> 00:21:00.319
 There was some sort of temporary covering of the people's sin.

00:21:00.700 --> 00:21:04.539
 But ultimately, the animals needed to be killed again and again and again.

00:21:04.680 --> 00:21:07.900
 Because there hadn't been that thorough, deep cleansing.

00:21:08.539 --> 00:21:12.420
 The signs of sin and all that dirt would come back again.

00:21:12.420 --> 00:21:16.880
 And what God wants us to understand about the death of Jesus Christ,

00:21:17.060 --> 00:21:18.580
 when we take him at his word,

00:21:18.820 --> 00:21:24.600
 when we rely on the fact that he died for us and he gave his life as a sacrifice for us

00:21:24.600 --> 00:21:26.000
 and bought our redemption,

00:21:26.480 --> 00:21:34.080
 is that what he offers us is the prospect of being absolutely, completely, permanently clean.

00:21:35.759 --> 00:21:39.140
 And I wonder if some of us look at our own hearts and lives.

00:21:39.140 --> 00:21:43.780
 Even those of us who have been following Jesus for a long time and you say,

00:21:43.880 --> 00:21:48.740
 Paul, you don't know what I've been getting up to in recent days or weeks or months.

00:21:48.800 --> 00:21:49.560
 I'm not clean.

00:21:50.540 --> 00:21:53.259
 And we feel the sense of our own guilt and shame.

00:21:54.160 --> 00:21:58.020
 Well, what we're invited to do this morning is come to the cross of Jesus Christ

00:21:58.019 --> 00:22:00.940
 and see that when he died,

00:22:01.500 --> 00:22:03.859
 in the words of verse 14 of chapter 9,

00:22:04.379 --> 00:22:10.859
 he offered himself to God to cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death.

00:22:11.019 --> 00:22:11.259
 Why?

00:22:11.619 --> 00:22:13.579
 So that we may serve the living God.

00:22:13.660 --> 00:22:19.799
 It's not God's will that we would focus on all of the sin that has been committed.

00:22:19.940 --> 00:22:21.859
 But having repented of it,

00:22:21.879 --> 00:22:24.700
 and yes, we need to repent of it time and time again,

00:22:24.700 --> 00:22:29.360
 we would accept that his death is sufficient to cleanse our consciences.

00:22:29.720 --> 00:22:31.319
 Not just to cover it for a time.

00:22:31.580 --> 00:22:33.559
 There's no need for a rug to be put over it.

00:22:33.779 --> 00:22:36.380
 But through relying alone on the death of Jesus,

00:22:36.600 --> 00:22:40.420
 we can know what it is to be absolutely clean.

00:22:40.600 --> 00:22:41.400
 Let's carry on.

00:22:41.500 --> 00:22:42.559
 Verse 15.

00:22:42.840 --> 00:22:45.539
 For this reason, Christ is the mediator of a new covenant,

00:22:45.779 --> 00:22:49.319
 that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance.

00:22:49.539 --> 00:22:51.220
 Now that he has died,

00:22:51.480 --> 00:22:53.019
 not this time to make us clean,

00:22:53.019 --> 00:23:01.000
 now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.

00:23:01.180 --> 00:23:04.139
 So point one, he died so that we can be clean.

00:23:04.740 --> 00:23:08.339
 Point two, he died so that we could be free.

00:23:09.059 --> 00:23:11.759
 So the language here is the language of captivity.

00:23:12.379 --> 00:23:16.980
 It's a language of kidnap, isn't it?

00:23:16.980 --> 00:23:23.400
 He died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.

00:23:23.460 --> 00:23:30.120
 So the image that seems to be conjured up in our minds is that idea that we have been taken kidnap,

00:23:30.759 --> 00:23:36.099
 and that we are no longer free at all to do what we would naturally want to do,

00:23:36.120 --> 00:23:38.079
 or to do what we are made to do.

00:23:38.079 --> 00:23:45.419
 And a huge ransom price has been put in order for freedom to be obtained.

00:23:46.419 --> 00:23:50.480
 And that in ways that we will never fully be able to understand in this life,

00:23:50.740 --> 00:23:55.539
 the death of Jesus Christ is described here as the ransom.

00:23:56.139 --> 00:24:01.099
 He died as a ransom, allowing us to be free.

00:24:01.099 --> 00:24:10.559
 And isn't it true that we know that through sin and Satan and all that he tries to do in us and in this world,

00:24:10.740 --> 00:24:13.639
 we have been taken captive in ourselves.

00:24:13.799 --> 00:24:17.919
 We are far from home and far from where we would need to be.

00:24:18.039 --> 00:24:22.279
 But this morning, any who have not yet come to Jesus Christ,

00:24:22.359 --> 00:24:27.559
 could I say from this verse that we are offered freedom from that captivity?

00:24:27.559 --> 00:24:31.200
 Because the ransom price has been paid, Jesus has died,

00:24:31.519 --> 00:24:35.700
 and we are allowed through trusting in him to walk into freedom,

00:24:36.039 --> 00:24:41.980
 in order, as chapter 10 will go on to say, to love God and to serve God,

00:24:42.339 --> 00:24:44.740
 and in order to have that hope of heaven.

00:24:45.799 --> 00:24:49.700
 As I was reflecting on this, I was reminded of that brilliant old film,

00:24:49.779 --> 00:24:51.679
 and indeed I watched a little bit of it last night,

00:24:51.799 --> 00:24:55.059
 of the story of Brooks in the Shawshank Redemption.

00:24:55.059 --> 00:24:59.019
 Do some of you remember that story, that great film, the Shawshank Redemption,

00:24:59.399 --> 00:25:05.399
 where Brooks, who had been a prisoner for so long, was finally set free?

00:25:05.859 --> 00:25:09.379
 And there's some moving scenes as he emerges from that prison,

00:25:09.799 --> 00:25:11.799
 and as he's there in his suit and tie,

00:25:12.019 --> 00:25:15.599
 but as he just struggles with that whole sense of freedom,

00:25:15.659 --> 00:25:18.359
 he doesn't know what to do or how to cope with freedom.

00:25:18.359 --> 00:25:24.779
 And he ends up in this kind of horrible situation where nobody's in touch with him,

00:25:25.000 --> 00:25:30.099
 where nobody is contacting him, where he's in unpleasant accommodation,

00:25:30.259 --> 00:25:31.779
 in a job where he's just being criticised,

00:25:31.939 --> 00:25:37.259
 and he ends up taking his own life, such as his inability to cope with freedom.

00:25:37.259 --> 00:25:43.220
 But this morning, we are reminded that Christ, through his death on the cross,

00:25:43.480 --> 00:25:47.019
 not only died to make us clean, but died to set us free,

00:25:47.379 --> 00:25:52.559
 and we're invited to live in the glorious freedom of the children of God.

00:25:52.940 --> 00:25:56.640
 We're not invited to be uncertain about what to do with it,

00:25:56.660 --> 00:25:59.140
 or to long to be back in captivity,

00:25:59.799 --> 00:26:01.559
 but to live as those who are free,

00:26:01.920 --> 00:26:05.140
 who are free to follow, love, and serve God.

00:26:05.140 --> 00:26:06.540
 We need to continue.

00:26:06.680 --> 00:26:10.300
 Not only does his death mean that we are clean and that we are free,

00:26:10.540 --> 00:26:12.420
 but let's read chapter 9, verse 28,

00:26:12.560 --> 00:26:17.520
 and get another insight into what Jesus' death is all about.

00:26:17.580 --> 00:26:19.780
 We'll actually read from verse 26.

00:26:20.540 --> 00:26:22.360
 The middle of verse 26 says,

00:26:22.440 --> 00:26:27.140
 He has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages

00:26:27.140 --> 00:26:31.960
 to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.

00:26:31.960 --> 00:26:35.579
 Just as people are destined to die once,

00:26:35.880 --> 00:26:37.819
 and after that to face judgment,

00:26:38.500 --> 00:26:43.220
 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many,

00:26:43.680 --> 00:26:45.640
 and he will appear a second time,

00:26:45.840 --> 00:26:47.579
 not to bear sin,

00:26:48.039 --> 00:26:52.299
 but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

00:26:53.500 --> 00:26:56.440
 If we've learned that through the sacrifice of Jesus,

00:26:56.440 --> 00:26:58.299
 we are clean and we are free,

00:26:58.420 --> 00:27:02.740
 I think verses 26 to 28 will teach us,

00:27:03.019 --> 00:27:04.920
 along with some of the other verses here,

00:27:05.039 --> 00:27:06.840
 that we are forgiven.

00:27:07.880 --> 00:27:10.059
 And there's a little negative in there

00:27:10.059 --> 00:27:12.360
 that I think is really important in verse 28.

00:27:12.480 --> 00:27:16.400
 Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many.

00:27:16.680 --> 00:27:17.980
 He will appear a second time,

00:27:18.160 --> 00:27:20.160
 not to bear sin,

00:27:20.720 --> 00:27:23.600
 but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

00:27:23.599 --> 00:27:27.279
 So it's clear that as Jesus died on the cross,

00:27:27.299 --> 00:27:28.039
 what was he doing?

00:27:28.799 --> 00:27:30.759
 He wasn't just demonstrating love.

00:27:31.679 --> 00:27:34.299
 He was dying to bear sin.

00:27:35.959 --> 00:27:40.599
 And it takes us back to the Old Testament situation

00:27:40.599 --> 00:27:43.759
 where we read of the scapegoat,

00:27:44.480 --> 00:27:49.959
 where the sins of the people would be laid on this goat,

00:27:49.960 --> 00:27:53.200
 and the goat would be sent into the wilderness,

00:27:53.539 --> 00:27:54.940
 away from the people.

00:27:55.600 --> 00:27:57.860
 And the image was of this goat

00:27:57.860 --> 00:28:00.940
 that was bearing the sins of the people

00:28:00.940 --> 00:28:02.579
 and so was banished.

00:28:02.700 --> 00:28:04.240
 And as the goat disappeared,

00:28:04.420 --> 00:28:06.299
 so I guess the image was

00:28:06.299 --> 00:28:08.680
 that people's sins were taken away

00:28:08.680 --> 00:28:12.319
 because someone else was bearing sins

00:28:12.319 --> 00:28:15.960
 and so people could know the reality of forgiveness.

00:28:15.960 --> 00:28:20.799
 Chapter 10, verse 17,

00:28:21.340 --> 00:28:23.180
 quoting from the Old Testament,

00:28:23.360 --> 00:28:25.960
 we read God's promise when he says,

00:28:26.299 --> 00:28:30.120
 their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.

00:28:30.519 --> 00:28:32.680
 And where these have been forgiven,

00:28:33.460 --> 00:28:36.700
 sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.

00:28:37.480 --> 00:28:39.420
 I wonder if we are living this morning

00:28:39.420 --> 00:28:41.940
 in the good of the fact that Jesus died

00:28:41.940 --> 00:28:45.539
 and in so doing, he has taken away our sins.

00:28:46.680 --> 00:28:49.320
 He has promised that he will remember our sins no more.

00:28:49.920 --> 00:28:53.820
 And in the place of bearing our own sins,

00:28:53.820 --> 00:28:57.860
 he offers us complete and absolute forgiveness.

00:28:59.180 --> 00:29:01.860
 You know, when people offend in this country

00:29:01.860 --> 00:29:06.279
 and go on at times to serve a period of imprisonment,

00:29:06.519 --> 00:29:08.640
 it's very, very difficult forever

00:29:08.640 --> 00:29:11.400
 for that offending to be totally forgotten.

00:29:11.400 --> 00:29:13.980
 And those, I've spoken to a number of those

00:29:13.980 --> 00:29:16.360
 who have gone through our criminal justice system

00:29:16.360 --> 00:29:17.700
 and they speak of the fact

00:29:17.700 --> 00:29:20.680
 that even when they have emerged from prison,

00:29:20.880 --> 00:29:22.540
 time and time and time again,

00:29:22.800 --> 00:29:25.500
 they are reminded of all of the things that they did.

00:29:25.920 --> 00:29:27.500
 And that it seems that we're not very good

00:29:27.500 --> 00:29:28.540
 at absolute forgiveness.

00:29:28.660 --> 00:29:29.840
 We've got a piece of legislation

00:29:29.840 --> 00:29:32.320
 called the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act,

00:29:32.380 --> 00:29:35.180
 which in theory is intended to allow people

00:29:35.180 --> 00:29:38.720
 to really leave behind all their offending

00:29:38.720 --> 00:29:41.380
 and know what it is to be truly rehabilitated.

00:29:41.680 --> 00:29:43.740
 But if you're to look at that piece of legislation,

00:29:44.140 --> 00:29:45.539
 there's a set of exceptions

00:29:45.539 --> 00:29:49.700
 that go on for pages and pages and pages and pages.

00:29:49.900 --> 00:29:51.940
 Because we reckon that when people have offended,

00:29:52.680 --> 00:29:55.160
 it's impossible really to allow them

00:29:55.160 --> 00:29:58.160
 to be totally free and forgiven from it again.

00:29:58.539 --> 00:30:00.799
 And so if that individual wants to go onto a job

00:30:00.799 --> 00:30:02.160
 of working with children

00:30:02.160 --> 00:30:05.180
 or wants to go on a job of working with vulnerable adults,

00:30:05.180 --> 00:30:06.460
 then there's an exception.

00:30:07.259 --> 00:30:09.720
 And they are required for a certain period of time

00:30:09.720 --> 00:30:11.660
 or in some cases for a whole lifetime

00:30:11.660 --> 00:30:15.420
 to declare again that they committed that offence

00:30:15.420 --> 00:30:16.560
 in the past.

00:30:16.779 --> 00:30:18.120
 And they're reminded of it

00:30:18.120 --> 00:30:19.880
 because we judge as a society

00:30:19.880 --> 00:30:23.440
 that it's not safe to allow that person

00:30:23.440 --> 00:30:25.960
 to completely forget about their offending.

00:30:26.039 --> 00:30:27.580
 And maybe some of you here

00:30:27.580 --> 00:30:29.299
 have experienced that personally

00:30:29.299 --> 00:30:31.720
 or are still personally experiencing

00:30:31.720 --> 00:30:34.160
 that pain of things being done in the past

00:30:34.160 --> 00:30:35.640
 never really being forgiven.

00:30:36.480 --> 00:30:38.059
 Maybe it's the case in terms of

00:30:38.059 --> 00:30:40.339
 a breaking of the laws of the land

00:30:40.339 --> 00:30:42.319
 or maybe it's the case of hurts

00:30:42.319 --> 00:30:43.860
 that you've caused others

00:30:43.860 --> 00:30:46.600
 and you know that that hurt has never been forgiven

00:30:46.600 --> 00:30:49.019
 and that you're still being counted as guilty

00:30:49.019 --> 00:30:51.819
 and is in some ways falling short

00:30:51.819 --> 00:30:53.500
 because of what you've done in the past.

00:30:53.700 --> 00:30:55.880
 Well, I want us to come to God's word this morning

00:30:55.880 --> 00:30:57.759
 and to see in God's word

00:30:57.759 --> 00:31:00.500
 that while there may indeed be lasting consequences

00:31:00.500 --> 00:31:02.420
 in this life for some of our actions

00:31:02.420 --> 00:31:04.259
 and we may not be able to get away from that

00:31:04.259 --> 00:31:06.339
 either through those whom we've hurt

00:31:06.339 --> 00:31:08.839
 or through what we've done against the law of the land.

00:31:08.960 --> 00:31:11.680
 We come and through Jesus' death on the cross

00:31:11.680 --> 00:31:12.700
 no matter what we've done

00:31:12.700 --> 00:31:14.980
 we're told that if we rely on it

00:31:14.980 --> 00:31:15.880
 we are forgiven.

00:31:16.960 --> 00:31:18.160
 And more than that we're told

00:31:18.160 --> 00:31:19.279
 we don't need to keep declaring

00:31:19.279 --> 00:31:21.039
 those things that have been done in the past.

00:31:21.420 --> 00:31:23.000
 There's no schedule of exceptions

00:31:23.000 --> 00:31:25.160
 because what God has said in chapter 10

00:31:25.160 --> 00:31:26.319
 verse 17 is

00:31:26.319 --> 00:31:28.339
 their sins and lawless acts

00:31:28.339 --> 00:31:31.039
 I will remember no more.

00:31:31.439 --> 00:31:32.659
 So when we approach God

00:31:32.659 --> 00:31:33.939
 we don't approach him

00:31:33.939 --> 00:31:36.839
 constantly recalling all of the sin

00:31:36.839 --> 00:31:38.519
 and failure in the past.

00:31:38.679 --> 00:31:40.339
 We come relying on the fact

00:31:40.339 --> 00:31:41.159
 that through Jesus

00:31:41.159 --> 00:31:42.179
 we are forgiven

00:31:42.179 --> 00:31:43.399
 we are clean

00:31:43.399 --> 00:31:44.459
 we are free

00:31:44.459 --> 00:31:45.699
 and God has promised

00:31:45.699 --> 00:31:47.859
 that he will not remember that sin.

00:31:48.980 --> 00:31:50.240
 And so if we rely on him

00:31:50.240 --> 00:31:51.599
 why do we feel

00:31:51.599 --> 00:31:53.099
 that we should keep recalling it?

00:31:53.259 --> 00:31:54.299
 That we should keep living

00:31:54.299 --> 00:31:55.799
 under the weight of guilt

00:31:55.799 --> 00:31:57.639
 of that sin in the past.

00:31:57.700 --> 00:31:58.220
 And in saying this

00:31:58.220 --> 00:31:59.220
 I'm not trying to belittle

00:31:59.220 --> 00:32:01.720
 the significance of sin

00:32:01.720 --> 00:32:02.539
 far from it.

00:32:02.599 --> 00:32:03.819
 That's why it took the death

00:32:03.819 --> 00:32:06.059
 of the perfect spotless son of God

00:32:06.059 --> 00:32:08.019
 to die on our behalf.

00:32:08.460 --> 00:32:10.079
 But let's not continue

00:32:10.079 --> 00:32:11.180
 to dwell on it

00:32:11.180 --> 00:32:12.839
 or to feel the guilt of it

00:32:12.839 --> 00:32:13.919
 but rather rejoice

00:32:13.919 --> 00:32:14.859
 in the forgiveness

00:32:14.859 --> 00:32:16.259
 that God offers

00:32:16.259 --> 00:32:18.419
 through the death of Jesus Christ.

00:32:18.980 --> 00:32:20.019
 There's a final angle

00:32:20.019 --> 00:32:22.519
 and it's a truly remarkable angle

00:32:22.519 --> 00:32:23.919
 into the death of Jesus Christ.

00:32:23.920 --> 00:32:25.940
 And it takes us into chapter 10

00:32:25.940 --> 00:32:27.680
 and I'd like to read to you

00:32:27.680 --> 00:32:29.740
 just chapter 10 verse 10

00:32:29.740 --> 00:32:31.960
 and then we'll read 12 to 14

00:32:31.960 --> 00:32:32.460
 once again.

00:32:32.539 --> 00:32:33.680
 Chapter 10 verse 10

00:32:33.680 --> 00:32:35.620
 By that will of God

00:32:35.620 --> 00:32:37.000
 we have been made holy

00:32:37.000 --> 00:32:38.259
 through the sacrifice

00:32:38.259 --> 00:32:40.039
 of the body of Jesus Christ

00:32:40.039 --> 00:32:41.700
 once for all.

00:32:41.900 --> 00:32:42.640
 And then in 11

00:32:42.640 --> 00:32:43.800
 we read about the priests

00:32:43.800 --> 00:32:44.820
 and I've made reference

00:32:44.820 --> 00:32:46.279
 to their constantly standing

00:32:46.279 --> 00:32:47.840
 and offering their sacrifices.

00:32:48.259 --> 00:32:48.860
 Chapter 12

00:32:48.860 --> 00:32:50.039
 sorry verse 12

00:32:50.039 --> 00:32:50.899
 when this priest

00:32:50.899 --> 00:32:52.339
 had offered for all time

00:32:52.339 --> 00:32:54.359
 one sacrifice for sins

00:32:54.359 --> 00:32:55.359
 he sat down

00:32:55.359 --> 00:32:56.339
 at the right hand of God

00:32:56.339 --> 00:32:57.420
 and since that time

00:32:57.420 --> 00:32:58.460
 he waits for his enemies

00:32:58.460 --> 00:32:59.839
 to be made his footstool.

00:33:00.379 --> 00:33:01.720
 And then get verse 14

00:33:01.720 --> 00:33:02.720
 let's not leave today

00:33:02.720 --> 00:33:04.420
 without letting verse 14

00:33:04.420 --> 00:33:05.920
 sink into our hearts and minds

00:33:05.920 --> 00:33:07.559
 for by one sacrifice

00:33:07.559 --> 00:33:10.019
 he has made perfect

00:33:10.019 --> 00:33:11.079
 forever

00:33:11.079 --> 00:33:14.619
 those who are being made holy.

00:33:14.619 --> 00:33:17.839
 we're clean

00:33:17.839 --> 00:33:19.359
 we're free

00:33:19.359 --> 00:33:20.879
 we're forgiven

00:33:20.879 --> 00:33:22.479
 and according to this

00:33:22.479 --> 00:33:23.699
 we are perfect.

00:33:25.799 --> 00:33:26.659
 You say you don't know

00:33:26.659 --> 00:33:27.599
 what's been going on in my life

00:33:27.599 --> 00:33:28.659
 I'm not perfect.

00:33:29.319 --> 00:33:30.619
 I look in my own heart

00:33:30.619 --> 00:33:31.139
 and life

00:33:31.139 --> 00:33:32.539
 and I say

00:33:32.539 --> 00:33:33.599
 I'm not perfect.

00:33:36.419 --> 00:33:38.439
 And then I look at verse 14

00:33:38.439 --> 00:33:41.079
 and yes it does point

00:33:41.079 --> 00:33:41.919
 to the future

00:33:41.919 --> 00:33:44.259
 it does point to the thing

00:33:44.259 --> 00:33:45.759
 that has not yet happened.

00:33:46.500 --> 00:33:47.579
 It does talk about

00:33:47.579 --> 00:33:49.579
 those who are in a process

00:33:49.579 --> 00:33:52.140
 those who are being made holy.

00:33:54.559 --> 00:33:55.839
 And there are other verses

00:33:55.839 --> 00:33:56.519
 in this passage

00:33:56.519 --> 00:33:57.079
 that talk about

00:33:57.079 --> 00:33:57.680
 what will happen

00:33:57.680 --> 00:33:58.319
 in the future.

00:33:58.460 --> 00:33:59.940
 Chapter 9 verse 28

00:33:59.940 --> 00:34:00.619
 talks about him

00:34:00.619 --> 00:34:01.700
 bringing salvation

00:34:01.700 --> 00:34:03.319
 to those who are waiting for him

00:34:03.319 --> 00:34:04.119
 a future hope.

00:34:04.879 --> 00:34:06.039
 But let's not get out of the way

00:34:06.039 --> 00:34:07.180
 let's not get away

00:34:07.180 --> 00:34:07.779
 from the fact

00:34:07.779 --> 00:34:09.099
 that for by one sacrifice

00:34:09.099 --> 00:34:11.500
 he has made perfect forever

00:34:11.500 --> 00:34:13.019
 those who are being

00:34:13.019 --> 00:34:14.340
 made holy.

00:34:14.900 --> 00:34:15.519
 Through Jesus

00:34:15.519 --> 00:34:18.039
 God looks at us

00:34:18.039 --> 00:34:19.400
 and sees us

00:34:19.400 --> 00:34:20.559
 as perfect.

00:34:23.900 --> 00:34:24.880
 Closest I can come

00:34:24.880 --> 00:34:25.579
 to illustrate it

00:34:25.579 --> 00:34:25.960
 I suppose

00:34:25.960 --> 00:34:26.519
 is by thinking

00:34:26.519 --> 00:34:27.679
 about my own glasses.

00:34:28.360 --> 00:34:29.440
 As I look around

00:34:29.440 --> 00:34:30.400
 I can now see

00:34:30.400 --> 00:34:31.480
 hardly any of you.

00:34:31.539 --> 00:34:32.519
 I know there are blobs

00:34:32.519 --> 00:34:33.619
 in front of me

00:34:33.619 --> 00:34:36.159
 but I wouldn't be too sure

00:34:36.159 --> 00:34:36.739
 as to whether

00:34:36.739 --> 00:34:38.059
 any of you have life

00:34:38.059 --> 00:34:39.360
 or not.

00:34:39.360 --> 00:34:41.579
 but I put on my glasses

00:34:41.579 --> 00:34:43.019
 my eyes haven't changed

00:34:43.019 --> 00:34:45.059
 but I put on my glasses

00:34:45.059 --> 00:34:47.140
 and suddenly I'm able to see

00:34:47.140 --> 00:34:49.039
 a room with many bright

00:34:49.039 --> 00:34:51.300
 living active human beings

00:34:51.300 --> 00:34:52.599
 and some others as well.

00:34:52.760 --> 00:34:53.019
 But anyway

00:34:53.019 --> 00:34:53.760
 no no

00:34:53.760 --> 00:34:55.440
 I'm able to see

00:34:55.440 --> 00:34:57.099
 through these lenses

00:34:57.099 --> 00:34:58.980
 something perfectly.

00:34:59.500 --> 00:35:00.260
 Reverse that image

00:35:00.260 --> 00:35:00.760
 a little bit

00:35:00.760 --> 00:35:01.860
 and in my mind anyway

00:35:01.860 --> 00:35:03.220
 and maybe I'm not

00:35:03.220 --> 00:35:04.559
 the image has got many

00:35:04.559 --> 00:35:05.559
 the metaphor has got

00:35:05.559 --> 00:35:06.500
 many many limitations

00:35:06.500 --> 00:35:08.880
 but God looks at us

00:35:08.880 --> 00:35:09.639
 and of course

00:35:09.639 --> 00:35:11.139
 our lives still

00:35:11.139 --> 00:35:12.980
 are far from perfect.

00:35:13.800 --> 00:35:15.719
 But as he looks at us

00:35:15.719 --> 00:35:17.440
 he looks at us

00:35:17.440 --> 00:35:18.639
 through the lens

00:35:18.639 --> 00:35:19.940
 of all that Jesus

00:35:19.940 --> 00:35:20.679
 has done.

00:35:21.300 --> 00:35:22.440
 He doesn't look at us

00:35:22.440 --> 00:35:23.199
 in our sin

00:35:23.199 --> 00:35:24.340
 and in our shame.

00:35:25.239 --> 00:35:26.019
 He looks at us

00:35:26.019 --> 00:35:27.760
 only through that lens

00:35:27.760 --> 00:35:29.480
 of Jesus' sacrifice

00:35:29.480 --> 00:35:31.159
 on the cross for us.

00:35:31.539 --> 00:35:32.880
 And when that lens

00:35:32.880 --> 00:35:33.639
 is applied

00:35:33.639 --> 00:35:35.039
 he looks at us

00:35:35.039 --> 00:35:35.440
 and he says

00:35:35.440 --> 00:35:36.599
 they are my people

00:35:36.599 --> 00:35:37.720
 they are perfect

00:35:37.720 --> 00:35:40.099
 and they are being

00:35:40.099 --> 00:35:41.519
 made holy.

00:35:42.320 --> 00:35:43.500
 Because unlike my eyes

00:35:43.500 --> 00:35:44.440
 which will probably

00:35:44.440 --> 00:35:45.420
 get worse and worse

00:35:45.420 --> 00:35:46.099
 and worse

00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:47.800
 through God's spirit

00:35:47.800 --> 00:35:49.019
 at work in us

00:35:49.019 --> 00:35:50.519
 it's not only

00:35:50.519 --> 00:35:51.300
 the case

00:35:51.300 --> 00:35:52.119
 that

00:35:52.119 --> 00:35:54.519
 that God looks at us

00:35:54.519 --> 00:35:55.659
 and through Christ

00:35:55.659 --> 00:35:56.980
 sees that we

00:35:56.980 --> 00:35:57.760
 are perfect

00:35:57.760 --> 00:35:58.400
 but he also says

00:35:58.400 --> 00:35:59.539
 I'm working in those people

00:35:59.539 --> 00:36:00.659
 and they are also

00:36:00.659 --> 00:36:02.119
 being made perfect

00:36:02.119 --> 00:36:03.280
 and being made

00:36:03.280 --> 00:36:03.940
 more and more

00:36:03.940 --> 00:36:04.880
 into my image

00:36:04.880 --> 00:36:05.539
 until finally

00:36:05.539 --> 00:36:06.240
 I will return

00:36:06.240 --> 00:36:07.220
 and I will make them

00:36:07.220 --> 00:36:08.360
 absolutely fully

00:36:08.360 --> 00:36:09.640
 like myself.

00:36:09.800 --> 00:36:10.519
 Our time is up

00:36:10.519 --> 00:36:11.820
 but I trust that

00:36:11.820 --> 00:36:12.559
 like me

00:36:12.559 --> 00:36:13.340
 as you look at

00:36:13.340 --> 00:36:14.039
 this passage

00:36:14.039 --> 00:36:14.960
 you can rejoice

00:36:14.960 --> 00:36:16.840
 in what Jesus Christ

00:36:16.840 --> 00:36:17.579
 has done for us

00:36:17.579 --> 00:36:18.039
 on the cross

00:36:18.039 --> 00:36:18.640
 and I just have

00:36:18.640 --> 00:36:19.640
 three simple

00:36:19.640 --> 00:36:20.840
 suggested applications

00:36:20.840 --> 00:36:21.480
 and the first

00:36:21.480 --> 00:36:22.780
 is what should we do?

00:36:23.039 --> 00:36:23.500
 What should we do?

00:36:23.579 --> 00:36:23.980
 Number one

00:36:23.980 --> 00:36:25.460
 let's rely on him.

00:36:25.960 --> 00:36:27.079
 Let's look at him

00:36:27.079 --> 00:36:28.420
 sitting at God's right hand

00:36:28.420 --> 00:36:29.119
 having completed

00:36:29.119 --> 00:36:29.900
 all of the work

00:36:29.900 --> 00:36:30.880
 that he had to do

00:36:30.880 --> 00:36:31.680
 and let's not

00:36:31.680 --> 00:36:32.220
 carry on

00:36:32.220 --> 00:36:33.500
 with our strivings

00:36:33.500 --> 00:36:34.160
 to be right

00:36:34.160 --> 00:36:35.000
 in God's eyes

00:36:35.000 --> 00:36:35.940
 through all of our

00:36:35.940 --> 00:36:36.660
 own efforts

00:36:36.660 --> 00:36:38.079
 which we can so easily

00:36:38.079 --> 00:36:38.780
 slip into

00:36:38.780 --> 00:36:39.280
 can't we?

00:36:39.480 --> 00:36:40.280
 Let's rely

00:36:40.280 --> 00:36:42.140
 100% on him

00:36:42.140 --> 00:36:42.940
 let's sit

00:36:42.940 --> 00:36:44.079
 let's not stand

00:36:44.079 --> 00:36:45.220
 let's serve him

00:36:45.220 --> 00:36:45.660
 of course

00:36:45.660 --> 00:36:46.320
 actively

00:36:46.320 --> 00:36:47.240
 but do so

00:36:47.240 --> 00:36:47.940
 from a place

00:36:47.940 --> 00:36:48.980
 of grace.

00:36:49.660 --> 00:36:50.059
 Number two

00:36:50.059 --> 00:36:51.059
 let's rejoice

00:36:51.059 --> 00:36:51.599
 in him

00:36:51.599 --> 00:36:52.720
 the way to him

00:36:52.720 --> 00:36:53.340
 is open

00:36:53.340 --> 00:36:54.380
 the way to heaven

00:36:54.380 --> 00:36:55.180
 has been made

00:36:55.180 --> 00:36:55.820
 clear

00:36:55.820 --> 00:36:56.599
 and as we're going

00:36:56.599 --> 00:36:57.119
 to come on

00:36:57.119 --> 00:36:57.700
 next week

00:36:57.699 --> 00:36:58.139
 as we look

00:36:58.139 --> 00:36:58.960
 at the next part

00:36:58.960 --> 00:37:00.299
 of Hebrews

00:37:00.299 --> 00:37:01.019
 chapter 10

00:37:01.019 --> 00:37:01.460
 the author

00:37:01.460 --> 00:37:02.179
 will encourage us

00:37:02.179 --> 00:37:03.039
 now in light

00:37:03.039 --> 00:37:03.500
 of all that

00:37:03.500 --> 00:37:04.159
 Jesus has done

00:37:04.159 --> 00:37:05.239
 let's rejoice

00:37:05.239 --> 00:37:05.839
 in him

00:37:05.839 --> 00:37:07.039
 let's not give up

00:37:07.039 --> 00:37:07.819
 meeting together

00:37:07.819 --> 00:37:09.099
 let's meet to worship

00:37:09.099 --> 00:37:10.039
 and to serve

00:37:10.039 --> 00:37:11.399
 let's spur one another

00:37:11.399 --> 00:37:12.939
 on to good deeds

00:37:12.939 --> 00:37:13.859
 let's rely on him

00:37:13.859 --> 00:37:14.639
 and let's rejoice

00:37:14.639 --> 00:37:15.079
 in him

00:37:15.079 --> 00:37:15.980
 and finally

00:37:15.980 --> 00:37:17.719
 let's remember him

00:37:17.719 --> 00:37:19.039
 the world will so

00:37:19.039 --> 00:37:20.179
 quickly try

00:37:20.179 --> 00:37:21.359
 to take us away

00:37:21.359 --> 00:37:23.659
 from a 100%

00:37:23.659 --> 00:37:25.239
 reliance on Jesus Christ

00:37:25.239 --> 00:37:25.839
 and that's why

00:37:25.839 --> 00:37:26.439
 we're encouraged

00:37:26.439 --> 00:37:27.539
 to meet together

00:37:27.539 --> 00:37:28.239
 that's why

00:37:28.239 --> 00:37:28.800
 we're encouraged

00:37:28.800 --> 00:37:29.820
 to read our Bibles

00:37:29.820 --> 00:37:30.440
 and to pray

00:37:30.440 --> 00:37:31.159
 individually

00:37:31.159 --> 00:37:32.199
 and collectively

00:37:32.199 --> 00:37:32.759
 that's why

00:37:32.759 --> 00:37:33.320
 we're encouraged

00:37:33.320 --> 00:37:34.539
 to take communion

00:37:34.539 --> 00:37:35.440
 where we reflect

00:37:35.440 --> 00:37:36.380
 time and again

00:37:36.380 --> 00:37:37.159
 on the significance

00:37:37.159 --> 00:37:38.559
 of Jesus' death

00:37:38.559 --> 00:37:39.659
 in order that we

00:37:39.659 --> 00:37:40.800
 might time and again

00:37:40.800 --> 00:37:42.099
 remember him

00:37:42.099 --> 00:37:43.559
 and rely on him

00:37:43.559 --> 00:37:44.400
 completely

00:37:44.400 --> 00:37:45.340
 let's pray

00:37:45.340 --> 00:37:49.500
 God we thank you

00:37:49.500 --> 00:37:50.179
 for all that you

00:37:50.179 --> 00:37:50.599
 have done

00:37:50.599 --> 00:37:52.519
 Jesus we thank you

00:37:52.519 --> 00:37:53.159
 for laying down

00:37:53.159 --> 00:37:54.159
 your life for us

00:37:54.159 --> 00:37:56.759
 Jesus despite

00:37:56.760 --> 00:37:57.660
 all that we did

00:37:57.660 --> 00:37:58.160
 in rebellion

00:37:58.160 --> 00:37:59.080
 against you

00:37:59.080 --> 00:38:00.920
 we thank you

00:38:00.920 --> 00:38:01.460
 that you gave

00:38:01.460 --> 00:38:01.860
 your life

00:38:01.860 --> 00:38:02.640
 once for all

00:38:02.640 --> 00:38:03.940
 we thank you

00:38:03.940 --> 00:38:04.800
 that it was enough

00:38:04.800 --> 00:38:06.300
 it was enough

00:38:06.300 --> 00:38:07.200
 to make every one

00:38:07.200 --> 00:38:07.820
 of us clean

00:38:07.820 --> 00:38:09.260
 it was enough

00:38:09.260 --> 00:38:09.980
 to forgive us

00:38:09.980 --> 00:38:10.820
 from sins past

00:38:10.820 --> 00:38:11.840
 present and future

00:38:11.840 --> 00:38:14.120
 it was enough

00:38:14.120 --> 00:38:14.620
 to give us

00:38:14.620 --> 00:38:15.720
 complete freedom

00:38:15.720 --> 00:38:17.080
 and it was enough

00:38:17.080 --> 00:38:18.280
 to make us perfect

00:38:18.280 --> 00:38:19.700
 we thank you

00:38:19.700 --> 00:38:20.700
 and ask that you

00:38:20.700 --> 00:38:21.240
 would help us

00:38:21.240 --> 00:38:22.160
 to live our lives

00:38:22.160 --> 00:38:23.480
 as a grateful response

00:38:23.480 --> 00:38:24.500
 to all that you

00:38:24.500 --> 00:38:24.880
 have done

00:38:24.880 --> 00:38:25.920
 Amen

00:38:26.760 --> 00:38:27.680
 Amen

00:38:27.680 --> 00:38:27.980
 Amen

00:38:27.980 --> 00:38:29.620
 Amen

00:38:29.620 --> 00:38:29.900
 Amen

00:38:29.900 --> 00:38:30.940
 Amen

00:38:30.940 --> 00:38:32.660
 Amen

00:38:32.740 --> 00:38:33.360
 Amen

00:38:33.720 --> 00:38:35.980
 Amen

00:38:35.980 --> 00:38:36.020
 Amen

00:38:36.020 --> 00:38:36.540
 Amen

00:38:36.540 --> 00:38:36.780
 Amen

00:38:36.780 --> 00:38:37.920
 Amen

00:38:37.920 --> 00:38:38.440
 Amen

00:38:38.440 --> 00:38:39.060
 Amen

00:38:39.980 --> 00:38:41.120
es

00:38:41.740 --> 00:38:44.060
 Amen

00:38:44.140 --> 00:38:44.280
 Amen

00:38:44.280 --> 00:38:46.800
 Amen

00:38:46.800 --> 00:38:47.120
 Amen

00:38:47.120 --> 00:38:47.540
 Amen

00:38:47.540 --> 00:38:51.660
 Amen

00:38:51.660 --> 00:38:51.780
 Amen

00:38:51.780 --> 00:38:52.080
 Amen

00:38:52.080 --> 00:38:52.380
 Amen

00:38:52.380 --> 00:38:53.120
 Amen

00:38:53.120 --> 00:38:53.800
 Amen

00:38:53.800 --> 00:38:55.660
 Amen

00:38:55.660 --> 00:38:56.020
 Amen