Without the Shedding of Blood!

Hebrews 9:22, “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.”

The first instance of something shedding its blood in the word of God was whatever animal that was killed to cover Adam and Eve after the fall. Genesis 3:21, “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.”

The 1st time we have the blood of man mentioned is when Cain slew Abel, Genesis 4:10, “And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.”

God had designs of when blood should be shed, Leviticus 17:11, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.”

Atonement, to cover, thank the Lord, for when Adam sinned, we all came under the curse not just of this world but a death, both physical as well as spiritual, Genesis 2:15-17, “And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”

This was not a blood to be taken eternally, Lev 17:10  And whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, that eateth any manner of blood; I will even set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people. 

Drinking of the blood of animals and others was thought to cure disease and offer one longer life, Pope Innocent VIII was dying in 1492 and was allegedly given the blood of three boys in hopes of channeling some of their youthful energy. Many religions (cults) use blood of animals and people in their evil ceremonies.

Bloodletting was also thought to give relief to individuals such as bleeding the veins between the eyebrows to alleviates headaches, or under the tongue for chest pains or tonsillar abscess, or cutting the saphenous vein to ease menstrual problems.

In 1666 we have the 1st mention of a scientific report on transfusions which wasn’t very successful as they would use animals to humans, or just anybody. It wasn’t until 1900 when the discovery of blood types that blood transfusions started to become more successful and thus acceptable.

So, the Bible was true over 4000 years ago when it mentions that the. “life of the flesh is in the blood”

Animal blood was used in covering of sin for the Jewish faith for thousands of years before it was abolished by the Roman emperor Titus destroyed the temple in 70AD. Because of the various celebrations or feasts that Israel was required to have it is said that a minimum of 1367 animals were sacrificed each year, and when Solomon dedicated the temple an estimated 250,000 animals were sacrificed that day.

Hebrews 9:1-7, “Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary.  For there was a tabernacle made; the first, wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the shewbread; which is called the sanctuary. And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all; Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant; And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat; of which we cannot now speak particularly. Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God. But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people:”

This blood however lacked one thing, Hebrew 10:4, “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.” Acts 2:38, “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”

So, are we still in our sins since the sacrifice of animals for our sins isn’t happening? We have been given a much better sacrificial animal, a Lamb!

John 1:29, “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” 1Peter 1:18-19, “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;  But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:”

Hebrews 9:11-14, “But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”

Jesus sacrifice only needed to be done once to satisfy the blood requirement! Aren’t you thankful for the blood?  

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What About Fasting? part 2

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By Pastor Jeff,

Matthew 6:16-18, “Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.” 

Want to ruin any Fast? Just do what it says here; by openly making a scene you take what God could use to change your life to just a hunger strike. Attitude is the key to entering the presence of God in anything we do, prayer, giving, preaching, and fasting if we are doing it just to look good before man, it is of no effect with the Kingdom of God. James 4:6, “But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.” I mentioned Moses before as an example of someone who not only fasted for forty days once, but twice, and scripture says this about this man, Numbers 12:3, “(Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.)”It was this meekness (humility) that allowed God to use this powerful man to deliver His people from Egypt.

There are different types of fasting, we find one God chooses for us Isaiah 58:6, “Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?” You may be impressed by the Spirit of God to enter a fast which as stated here can do great things not only in your life but others! Some set a particular day every week, every month or more to fast to put power to our prayer life, Luke 2:36-37, “And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity; And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.” Because of her dedication she got to witness the newborn Savior of the World Jesus Christ.

Then are those that a leader of the Nation, a church leader, may in response to a situation, a answer that they may be seeking will call a period of fasting and prayer, 2 Chronicles 20:1-3, “It came to pass after this also, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them other beside the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle. Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea on this side Syria; and, behold, they be in Hazazontamar, which is Engedi. And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.” Many other fast are found in the Bible such as with the city of Nineveh,  Nehemiah, King David, as well others.

In the next lesson I will discuss the different types of Fasting.

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