Hymn 393, “I Am Now a
Child of God”
(Testimonies)
Hymn 180, “O Blessed Lord” (Larry’s choice)
Jesus’ beginning was not at Bethlehem, Judea, or Nazareth. It began
with the foundation of the
world. In the Old Testament, God
was teaching us over and over about Christ will come. The Old Testament
talks of Light and Shadow. To make a shadow, one needs light and
an object. To enjoy that shadow or
benefit of that shadow, you have to line up with the light and the
object. You have to constantly adjust yourself
to that shadow. God gives us
light. The object- Christ… is
large. Some shadows we can rest
in. He protects us and keeps us
safe. The Old Testament, God
taught us about blood… so precious as it is and how to respect it. In Genesis 3:7, Adam and Eve
sewed themselves aprons to cover themselves. We try to cover
ourselves. We realize our exposure before God. Why didn’t God except
that? It is because it was fig leaves. There is no blood in fig
leaves. Genesis 3:21, “The Lord made coats
of skins and clothed them.” God
(He) made a garment. The one with
skins - it was made with blood… a sacrifice was involved - to make us
acceptable
before God. God is wanting us to
cherish blood - for Christ. Christ
is a garment of righteousness.
This garment we have in Christ is complete… a sacrifice. Cain and Abel
offered a sacrifice. Cain was a tiller of the ground. Abel was a
keeper of the sheep. Cain offered fruit. Abel offered blood. Genesis 4:4, God rejected Cain’s
sacrifice because it was the fruit of the ground… something that is just
flesh. Cain was a picture of the
flesh. Abel, the picture of the
divine. Cain means “acquired”
(gotten). Eve acquired a man from
the Lord. Other names for Cain: fugitive, vagabond, a wanderer. Abel: feeder and a keeper.
Our human nature is the first born and Christ - our second born… is the
divine. God has given us the
sacrifice - the blood of the lamb.
The first blood in the Bible is the blood of animals. The next blood we read about is a slain
son… Abel (Genesis 4:9). The
voice of the brother’s blood cryeth from the ground. The blood of
Christ- went to the ground… to the earth… where
man was made. When blood has
fallen on the ground - it has changed forever. That’s what God wants for
us. Seth was then sent by God (Eve’s third son). “Now God has
appointed me a new
seed.” Seth means “a new
seed.” God appoints the divine –
the Holy Spirit. Genesis. 4:26, the fruit of the divine. The spirit of God has called us. Blood is the cleansing method, but importantly - it’s the life. The body and the blood… it has to be alive. Religion is dead because it’s the blood that people just follow. You must follow both. Allow it to flow through us to remove impurities.
Hymn 17, “Wash Me From Sin” (verses 1 and 4 closed the afternoon session) |