| Jesus'
Blood: Shed for Us
--
Was shed, when He sweat drops blood in the Garden of Gethsemane, gripped
with the terror of separation from his Father, who turn from him, abandoning
to death; and the prospect of being made a Curse separated from God
by the sins of the world.
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-Was shed, when the servant of the high priest smote him upon the face.
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- Was shed, when the Roman soldiers ridiculed him, mocked him, stripped
him, buffeted him and torn out His beard.
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- Was shed, When he was flogged with the Roman flagellum, the deadly
scourging with the lash, Each of the nine strands were tipped with an
object which cut or wounded.
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- Was shed, when the crown of thorns was plaited upon Jesus' head.
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- Was shed, when Jesus hands and feet were penetrated by the spikes
which would hold him suspended above the earth upon a Roman cross (the
curse of hanging on a tree.)
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- Was shed, when the Roman officer pierced his side with a spear and
blood and water flowed out upon the ground.
Blood
Purchased the Provisions of the Gospel
Discussing
the blood of the lamb may strike you as something primitive, strange
or disgusting but it is the fact that it is the living bloodwhich
makes a sacrifice spiritually effectual. From the writings of Moses
we learn that the Life is in the blood. Blood is the life of
the soul and holds potential for both blessing and for defilement. Innocent
blood is said to cry out from the earth. The blood of victims
of war and of violence cry out with a certain voice from the earth.
Jesus'
blood was blood untainted by sin or the curse or death. It is 100 per
cent imbued with the power of life. This blood had within it perfect
eternal life; it still has, in the present, perfect eternal life. That
blood that sprinkled the earth from the Mount of Olives, to Pilate's
hall of judgment, to the via Dolorosa, to the hill called Golgotha,
is still nurturing the whole earth. As Jesus was dying the death of
crucifixion upon a cross, he declared the sentence which his blood would
continue to enforce, Father forgive them, they do not know what they
do. Jesus blood purchased the price for our sins, sins past,
sins present, and sins future.
Father
forgive them, Among the last words spoken by Jesus upon the cross
is the legacy which any person whose soul is in want can appropriate
as his or her own personal blessing and legacy, eternal life.
Who is Jesus? (Aside
from being the Son of God) Jesus
was A Really Nice Guy
It
is written in the law of Moses that we should make no graven image.
Among all of the ten commandments this one may not lend itself readily
to application although the first references seem to figure in the question
of idolatry. I think, however, it has much more to apply to our present
knowledge or lack of knowledge about God. One of the characteristics
of human nature is to draw inferences and conclusions based upon things
we see with the natural eye. The life of God draws its strength, faith,
through not relying on the eye to inform or validate our understanding.
Portraits of God or Christ become in a real sense a kind of icon. This
icon restricts our knowledge of God's reality.
Throughout
the nearly two thousand years of Christian tradition we become the victims
of iconography, Icons which in some manner or another depict God or
the Son of God. Any of us who have ever been to a major museum have
seen depictions of Jesus Christ created during different historical
eras. The characteristics of portrayal is to make a presumptuous statement
about the personality, the humanity or the divinity of the subject that
is being portrayed. Iconography has colored our interpretation of who
Jesus is. Some of these images are very static with a very narrow portrayal.
A sense of Jesus Christ's humanity was not apparent for centuries. When
he was depicted by the first Christian artists there was not a trace
of life or humanity. For the period from the 4th century until the 14th,
he was no more than an stylized icon, lacking any features which would
make him like us. Later, after the fifteenth century, he was portrayed
as very human in works by Rembrandt, or Caravaggio, Rubens, and others.
The point that I am making is in respect to narrowness and misunderstanding
of who Jesus was. Religious traditions sometimes portray Jesus in such
a narrow light that we can not associate him in all of his attributes,
human and divine.
The
human quality of Jesus needs to be preserved. I think the phrase "Jesus
was a nice guy," may strike a negative chord among some who are religious
and formalize so much of Christian life into liturgy. But I say it for
a reason. We need to de-mystify Jesus and make Jesus accessible to people,
especially in the now of the Gospel rather than the then of
religion. The Lord is not someone who placed himself out of the reach
of humanity.
To
think of Jesus as a friendly, loving and kindly person does not interfere
with his divinity nor his sovereignty.
There
are other aspects to Jesus too, as depicted by the Hebrew names of Jehovah:
Nissi, Tsidkenu, Rapha, Shamah, Jireh, Sabaoth, and numerous others,
as well as: the 'Righteous Judge', the 'Captain of the Army of God',
or as the 'Ancient of Days', and many other powerful and illuminating
titles. One day, we will all fall before Christ, the Righteous Judge.
But for now Jesus is still bringing gentle compassion, forgiveness,
restoration and blessing to those of us with a need. He is extending
a hand of friendship to those who need a friend.
Jesus'
friendly and compassionate personality is described as a friend to sinners,
one who went out of his way to meet and have fellowship with those that
the religious community had excluded (Matthew 9:10-13.) Jesus was known
to have been in the middle of fun and frolic where there was feasting
and drinking. He said of himself, that he was accused of being a glutton
and a wine bibber, but in spite of this Jesus, declared that wisdom
is known by her offspring. (Matthew 11:19 paraphrase).
ENCOUNTERS
WITH JESUS
Stories
are numerous where men or women
of many sorts and levels of authority
encountered Jesus and were impacted
by the Lord's presence or received
mercy from the Lord's hand or
were touched by his words and
compassion:
Individuals
who he called to become his disciples
Nicodemus the religious Pharisee
who came to inquire of the nature
of Jesus' teachings.
Zaccheus the publican; (described
in Luke 19:2-10)
The Samaritan woman at the well
of Sychar; (John 4:5-30).
The woman taken in adultery; (John
8:4-11).
Mary, a former prostitute anointed
Jesus feet at the house of Simon
the leper; (Luke 7:37-47).
Jesus
who consoled the man healed of
blindness after the rulers of
the temple counselled tol expell
him; (John 9).
The demon possessed man of the
Gadarenes;
The Syro-Phoenician woman with
the demon possessed child.
Mary, Martha and Lazarus friends
Jesus loved. who
Jesus visited at the grave side
of Lazarus and wept; (John 11).
The centurian who had the sick
child who understood kingdom authority;
.
The Roman governor, Pontius Pilate.
Saul of Tarsus; and others.
The
friendship factor as it pertains
to the person of Jesus is something
that must not be lost. There is
a proverb that states, There is
a friend that sticks closer than
a brother. (Proverbs 18:24) This
is the love and friendship of
Jesus Christ and Jesus who relgious
men labeled the "friend of
sinners and tax collectors."
At there very moment, there
are so many hurting, there are
so many who are bruised, and there
are many needing a friend. The
love and power of the Spirit of
Christ Jesus can supply this.
It is a kind of supernatural miracle
that someone who needs and asks
believing can receive.
LITMUS
TESTS TO TEST CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE
Your Religion
May Not Meet these Criteria!
There
are some indicators which we can use in testing Christian beliefs and
doctrines. Use these to gauge when in doubt? Perhaps these are a little
like the saying, "trust your gut."
|
| If
we feel driven rather than led we can be pretty sure in is
not in accordance with the Gospel. It is not God's nature to drive
us. |
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| If
we feel condemned rather than loved, we can be pretty sure
it is not God for God is merciful and full of compassion. If we
feel fearful rather than peaceful, we can be pretty sure
this is not God, for God has not given us the spirit of fear. |
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| If
we feel threatened with consequences rather than encouraged,
we can be pretty sure it is not God, for God did not send His son
to condemn the world but to save it. |
. Since we are
promoting a doctrine which is based
upon Jesus the Messiah, Church Doctrine
needs to conform to foundational Biblical
standards, and not a system of human
understandings or philosophy, it would
be appropriate and good to go back to
the ministry which he himself practiced
and defined. What kind of ministry was
it? How was it enacted or exercised?
If we need a point of reference, we
need to compare the person to person
ministry and relationships to people
that Jesus modeled, for these are the
model not only of spiritual fellowship,
but also loving service.
The
universal view that God is in every
person and only needs to be actualized,
is not Biblical. Man is not a divine
race but a fallen race. All Human lives
require the work of redemption through
faith in the Redeemer.
False
Prophets in the Last Days
Matt.7:15 Beware of false prophets,
which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening
wolves. 16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes
of thorns, or figs of thistles?
Matt 24:11 And many false prophets
shall rise, and shall deceive many.
I
think it is time to tune up our discernment as the final days approach.
It has always been a quirk of human nature to be misled. Charismatic
leaders both Christian and Non Christian rise up and deceive many. The
problem with making judgments is that we have our eyes on Religion,
men or ministries more than our eyes upon Jesus who is the author and
finisher of our faith. 2Cor11:19,20
Paul Addresses the problem of false
prophets and apostles "-- For ye suffer fools gladly, seeing ye yourselves
are wise. "For ye suffer, if a man bring you into bondage, if
a man devour you, if a man take of you, if a man exalt himself, if a
man smite you on the face."
Evangelicals
are typically guarded toward anything that expresses a "spiritual" manifestation,
for fear that it is demonic or out of order. They "resist the Holy Spirit"
as Stephen declared to the Religious leaders who stoned him calling
him an apostate. Their discernment was totally inaccurate!
Charismatics,
on the other hand, may allow Spiritual manifestation but have difficulty
discerning that which is Soulish and that which is Spirit. High emotion
or energy has come to become itself an indicator of Spirituality. However,
Spirit is not of the mind or emotion though it may be viewed as very
emotive.
THE
PERSON, PRACTICES AND CHARACTER OF JESUS ARE THE GAUGE OF THE AUTHENTIC
1. Meekness of Character:
Jesus
and the True Apostles must always be the role model to emulate and in
character and behavior. Paul's letter to Ephesus, in Chapter 4 indicates
that we one day grow and mature into a perfect man in the exact facsimile
of Jesus Christ. This is a key Scripture!. Jesus declares in
Matthew
11:29, 29 " -- Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am
meek and lowly in heart:' and " 10:1 Now I Paul myself beseech
you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, who in presence am base
among you, but being absent am bold toward you:" 2Cor 10:1
2.
Denying self and taking up the cross:
Any
person who becomes a big name or a superstar in the church world, a
kind of spiritual idol is quickly on the road of becoming a false prophet
or false teacher. Jesus corrected the early disciples who he sent to
minister in "his name" they came back full of self exaltation, Luke
10:20 Notwithstanding in this, rejoice not, that the spirits are
subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written
in heaven. Jesus took the focus off themselves. They had at last learned
their lesson by the time Peter and John met the crippled man at the
Gate: Acts 3:12 And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people,
Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly
on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to
walk?
3:
Selling out to the world and FAME or name
--The error of Balaam
Balaam
was a false prophet sited through out scripture as one who "sold out"
to the pagan world system. He was willing sell his gift for gain and
bring a curse to the people of God. NT writings remind of this danger.
Peter, (2Peter 2:15)Jude and the Revelation.
Jude
11 Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran
greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying
of Core. Revelation 2:14 " -- But I have a few things against
thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam,
who taught Balac to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel,
to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.
Gainsaying of Core
refers to a leader of Israel who always was jealous of Moses' authority
and contended to usurp Moses' leadership. Moses, was called 'the meekest
man on earth' and Core probably assumed that he was much more dynamic
and qualified for leadership. He contended for authority that was not
given to him. He finally was swallowed up by "Hell."
4.
False prophets bring in Doctrines of Demons
Any of the
varieties and flavors of worldly behaviors or motivations which are
not governed by the meekness and gentleness of Christ and Jesus' selfless
love of . There is a list of behaviors called the works of the flesh
probably* are demonically inspired. Galatians 5: 19 Now the works
of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness,
lasciviousness,
20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations,
wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21
Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which
I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which
do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
*James 3:14, 15 (14 But if ye have bitter envying
and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.
15 This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual,
devilish -demonic-.)
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