12/3/2017
Christmas in Communion
Advent Pt. 2
Revelation 5:6
I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures & the elders…
The Gift of Christmas Culminated In Heaven
Hebrews 9:11 When Christ came as High Priest of the good things that are already here, He went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation.
Christ’s Sacrifice Made Redemption Eternal
Hebrews 9:12 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, having obtained eternal redemption.
The Gift of Christ’s Offering Purifies Us
Hebrews 9:13-14 The blood of goats & bulls & the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. 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!
The New Covenant Is An Eternal Pact
Hebrews 9:15 For this reason Christ is The Mediator of a New Covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance–now that He has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.
The Last Will & Testament of God Is The Eternal Covenant In Christ
Hebrews 9:16-19 In the case of a will, it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it, because a will is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the one who made it is living. This is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood. When Moses had proclaimed every commandment of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves, together with water, scarlet wool and branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people.
Christ’s Sacrifice Brought Purification IN HEAVEN
Hebrews 9:20-23 He said, “This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to keep.” In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies. In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
THE GIFT OF CHRISTMAS IS THE REMOVAL OF SIN
Hebrews 9:24-26 Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; He entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. Nor did He enter heaven to offer Himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself.
His First Coming Guarantees His Second Coming!
Hebrews 9:27-28 Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him.
THE BENEDICTION
Hebrews 13:20-21 Now may the God of Peace, Who brought up from the dead The Great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of The Eternal Covenant even Jesus our Lord… equip you with everything good for doing His will, and may He work in us what is pleasing to Him, through Jesus Christ, to Whom be glory for ever and ever! Amen!