The Cross
The All-Sufficient Sacrifice
Sunday, October 15, 2023
Call to Worship: Philippians 2: 5-11 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Let us praise the Lord, who became our sacrifice, and who reigns forever as King!
The cross-when we ponder the magnificent exchange that happened there is overwhelming. As I listened to that song the other day as I was preparing music, it brought me to tears, not of sadness, but of a deep gratitude. That wasn’t me at that moment responding was the spirit within me being moved by the depth of God’s love for us and His amazing plan of redemption for His creation. A sinful people who had fallen away, but in His great love He desires us all to be close and in relationship with Him, and He knew the only way this could happen was for His Son who was without sin to be our sacrifice to shed His spotless blood that atoned once and for all time for the sins of the world.
We can at times leave this to discuss only around Good Friday, but we must remember what happened at the cross is central to our Christian faith and it is the cross that provides the gateway for the exchange from our sinful nature to the righteousness of Jesus Christ. There is no other path. It is the cross and the exchange that happened there that enables the legal transaction to be in effect as we believe in Jesus- we become children of God-adopted into His kingdom. As heirs of Christ, we share in every spiritual blessing and His full inheritance. It’s incredible to really ponder the depth of what Jesus’ death on the cross means for us; and even more so, His resurrection and how that also applies to us.
Everything happens through the cross, for this is God’s plan and His way. We’ll look today at how Jesus made an all-sufficient sacrifice through the cross. This is so important for us to grasp
and seek to understand in growing measure. It’s one thing to read or say that; it’s entirely different to believe this and know this is our truth- His death on the cross is all sufficient to cover, banish, break the bondage to, heal, restore, and provide for everything we will ever need. All is all.
Yet we don’t live this way consistently. Let’s look at the differences today in how and why the priests in Old Testament times made sacrifices compared to the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ, our Savior. Let us have ears to hear God’s truth regarding His Son’s sacrifice for our great gain. Let us grow in our faith today in how we apply this to our daily lives. When we come to understand the power of the cross, it changes everything.
The power we are to operate through does not come through us-we’ll run out and run dry. The power we are called to live in flows freely and perfectly from the cross to us via Jesus Christ. As we believe! Believe today. Receive in your heart WHY Jesus willingly went to such lengths for YOU. Receive it, for it’s His free gift to you as you believe and it comes from the depths of His love for you. Look at the cross through His eyes and what His sacrifice offers all humanity who choose to receive Him. See it. Feel it. Receive it.
Hebrews 10: 11-17 NIV
11 Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. 14 For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.
15 The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says: 16 “This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.” 17 Then he adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.”
- By One Sacrifice.
As we read in our key Scripture the OT priests had to make sacrifices day after day merely to cover sin. Their sacrifices could never take away sin. They had to keep coming back, for the sin persisted. It ran through all of humanity.
Isaiah 53:6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way;
and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
God had a plan to satisfy His wrath against sin. God hates sin. He loves His creation-which is why He devised the plan He did, but He is holy and cannot tolerate sin. All of us have gone astray, turning to our own ways. You know this to be true have not, nor can you on your own, be perfectly obedient to God’s ways. Our fleshly nature rebels against God and His ways. So God laid on His only Son, the iniquity of all humanity. He put the sin of the world upon His Son. All the rebellion of humanity, He laid upon His Son. All the punishment due for sin, God placed it upon His Son. All the
evil due to us for our sin, God placed that upon His Son. Justice was satisfied.
Isaiah 53:10 Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.
Is that hard to read? We must remember God is love. It was love for His Son and love for His creation that brought about this plan because He knew His Son, was the only one capable of carrying this out. You and I could not bear that weight or punishment. You and I are not without blemish to atone for sin. He needed a pure heart, not tainted with sin. He needed One who was perfectly obedient to carry out the Father’s wishes so that victory could be realized.
God knew His Son who was perfectly united with Him, obedient to Him as He came in the flesh, would fulfill what was asked of Him, even unto death. But look at this prophecy is not just about death. Jesus did make His life an offering for sin, yes, but then we read He will see His offspring and prolong His days. The will of the Lord will prosper in His hand. This is speaking of the resurrection! This is speaking that even though He died, He would live and God’s will, would prosper in the hands of His Son who would be victorious over death!
2 Corinthians 5:21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Jesus obeyed the will of the Father and became the sacrifice so a great exchange would take place. In OT sacrifices, the person who brought the animal to sacrifice would bring that animal before the priest who would evaluate if it was indeed without blemish-without fault. If so, then the priest would lay hands on the animal and pray for the animal to identify with the sins of that person, so then when the blood was shed, there would be atonement and a covering for that sin. Jesus became this very thing for all of us. God took the sin of the world- it- the most horrific, disturbing,
darkest of sins and placed it on His Son so Jesus identified with all sin. He nailed it all to the cross with Him, so that when His blood was shed, it would atone for that sin. All of your sins.
What was the exchange then? He took our sin and the punishment due for that sin so that we could receive His righteousness and right standing with God that was due to Him. Ponder that for a moment. We can freely come before our Holy God and Father, not because of anything we did, but because Jesus made a great exchange for us. This exchange of death for life, sin for righteousness, punishment for peace, enemies of God to heirs with Christ- means just as God provided for Jesus in every way; He provides for you and me also. Everything, as we come to Him and trust Him in faith.
- All Things Provided.
Romans 8: 31-32 31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
When we remember what truly happened at the cross and look at it through the eyes of a loving father towards His Son, and towards all of us who would become His adopted children, we see this is a Father and God who spared nothing; who held nothing back so we might live in His Kingdom. So we might live in a right and loving relationship with Him, enjoying fellowship with Him as Jesus did and does. So we might live in peace instead of chaos; so we might live in joy instead of deep sadness, so we might live in hope instead of despair. He held nothing back.
What are we to take away will He not also graciously give us all things now it means? For eternity with what is to come. For every promise He has spoken, how will He not give us all things? Do you believe this church?
When life is hard, grueling at times, your future unknown and appearing desperate, do you stand at the foot of the cross? Do you stand up for Him who gave up everything for you? Do you remain in hope and believe He is bigger than every problem or fear you face? Do you believe He will bring you victory over every trial? Do you believe He can make good even in the hardest of situations? Will you stand?
How will He not graciously give you all the things you need to live in hope and victory?
2 Peter 1: 3-4 3 His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
Here is a promise-God has given us everything we need, so that we can participate in the divine nature. How incredible is that? So that we can be joined with Him, one in Spirit and participate-that means we are actively engaged and involved with the divine, the spiritual. This is His desire for us. This is what the cross provides for us.
The catalyst for this interaction with God is Jesus on the cross. We can’t come to God on any other basis-not our good works, not our family background, not our religious practices, not our good intentions of these impress God. The only basis worthy of our approaching God is the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. His sacrifice is perfect and complete. It will never need to happen again. From that standpoint, our legal inheritance as an adopted and redeemed child of God is ours. All that God gifts to us, is ours legally the moment we believe and receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
However, there is a lifetime of learning, growing, shaping, and molding that must take place for us to take hold of all that we have been given; for us to more deeply understand what authority we have in Christ. This is called sanctification. What Jesus did is perfect. We are being perfected as we come to understand His all-sufficient sacrifice.
- We Must Appropriate His Provision.
John 1:12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God
This shows us the legal transaction that happened as we believed and received Jesus. God gave them the right to become children of God. Legally we possess all God has given us. Experientially, we do not yet possess it all are yet becoming the fullness of Christ in us. It is up to us to seek out that becoming and apply it in our lives.
Hebrews 10:14 NKJV For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.
I want to share a few more verses of encouragement in this chapter in the Message translation:
Hebrews 10: 19-23 MSG 19-21 So, friends, we can now—without hesitation—walk right up to God, into “the Holy Place.” Jesus has cleared the way by the blood of his sacrifice, acting as our priest before God. The “curtain” into God’s presence is his body. 22-25 So let’s do it—full of belief, confident that we’re presentable inside and out. Let’s keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word.
Conclusion: Remember by one sacrifice Jesus has made perfect provision for every need and for every human being. His is the all-sufficient sacrifice. Let us come confidently before God for every need, on the basis of what Jesus did for us on the cross.
This is the only way to approach God.
Let’s pray
Offering:
National Sunday School Teacher Appreciation Day! Vickie L. Detert (10/13/23)
Take the children by the hand. Help them God's word understand.
Teach them how to sing His praise. Pray with them and show the way.
Let them ask for what they need. Trust that God will take the lead.
He will bless both them and you. And we shall add our gratitude.
Prayer of blessing over the volunteers.
Announcements: THANK YOU to all who helped bring our conference together and attended! Many praises to God!
Final Song:
Final Blessing: Ephesians 6: 23-24 NLT Peace be with you, dear brothers and sisters, and may God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you love with faithfulness. 24 May God’s grace be eternally upon all who love our Lord Jesus Christ
