When Jesus Becomes The Exclusive Centre Of Our Attention We Will Do What Is Required To Receive Cleansing On The Day Of Atonement And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness. (Lev. 16:16) Jesus You Are The Centre Of My Joy - youtube/watch?v=Py7ehvxaJoE What a power message from the Lord. What a blessed assurance. Through the Atoning Sacrifice of Jesus Christ, all our transgression will eventually be removed from the Heavenly Sanctuary and place of Satan. WOW!!! What a day that will be when all the troubles of this world will be no more. What a day that will be when we see the face of Jesus knowing for sure that sin will NEVER enter our world or our lives again. What a day that will be when all the things that so easily beset us will not be there to tempt us anymore. My friend Jesus is calling us this morning to make our calling an election sure. He is calling us to spend more time in the study of His words, fortifying our minds with the word of truth so that Satan cannot trip us up. The lesson reminds us that during the Day of Atonement on earth, the people of God spent time afflicting their souls. They spent time asking God to search their hearts and to remove any impurity so that the cleansing they required would be received. During that day the people did no work. It was a day of fasting and prayer and a time to commune and connect with God. As the Day of Atonement continues in Heaven some of us continue to occupy ourselves with the things of this world instead of afflicting our souls. While we need to occupy until Jesus comes the most important occupation relates to the fortifying of our minds with the word of truth as well as taking every opportunity to spread the everlasting gospel to those who have not accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour. Too much time is being spent on the acquisition of wealth and the hoarding of this wealth. Too much time is spent participating in the things of this world that are of no eternal significance. We continue to allow the entertainment attractions of this world to pull us away from the things which are of greater importance. God is calling us this morning to come back into a closer relationship with Him. We cannot expect to receive the freedom from the penalty of sin if we continue to allow secularism to take control of our lives. It is so interesting that a study just completed by the world church reveals that secularism is entering the church at such a rapid rate and that it could have a negative effects on the future of the church. While I agree with this view, it is also having a negative effect on those who have allowed this cunning device of Satan to pull them away from spending time with God. You see, we have a form of godliness but if deny the power of God based on the activities of our lives, then attending church on a regular basis will have no positive effect on our eternal salvation. Remember what Jesus said in Matt 7:21 “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” Unless we are doing the will of God, we will never enter through the gate in the city of Heaven. My friend, this is serious business. Now is not the time to be playing around. Now is not the time to be idling with our eternal salvation. Now is the time to flee the very appearance of evil and develop our faith in God that He will remove all sinfulness from our lives and recreate His image in us before He returns the second time. I pray that throughout today, we will continue to surrender every area of our lives to the total control of the Holy Spirit. Let us continue to lead you into the path of righteousness. And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness: and the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities into a land not inhabited. Not until the goat had been thus sent away did the people regard themselves as freed from the burden of their sins. Every man was to afflict his soul while the work of atonement was going forward. All business was laid aside, and the whole congregation of Israel spent the day in solemn humiliation before God, with prayer, fasting, and deep searching of heart. Important truths concerning the atonement were taught the people by this yearly service. In the sin offerings presented during the year, a substitute had been accepted in the sinners stead; but the blood of the victim had not made full atonement for the sin. It had only provided a means by which the sin was transferred to the sanctuary. By the offering of blood, the sinner acknowledged the authority of the law, confessed the guilt of his transgression, and expressed his faith in Him who was to take away the sin of the world; but he was not entirely released from the condemnation of the law. On the Day of Atonement the high priest, having taken an offering for the congregation, went into the most holy place with the blood and sprinkled it upon the mercy seat, above the tables of the law. Thus the claims of the law, which demanded the life of the sinner, were satisfied. Then in his character of mediator the priest took the sins upon himself, and, leaving the sanctuary, he bore with him the burden of Israels guilt. At the door of the tabernacle he laid his hands upon the head of the scapegoat and confessed over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat. And as the goat bearing these sins was sent away, they were, with him, regarded as forever separated from the people. Such was the service performed unto the example and shadow of heavenly things. Hebrews 8:5. (Patriarchs and Prophets, pg. 355, 356 – Ellen G. White). It was seen, also, that while the sin offering pointed to Christ as a sacrifice, and the high priest represented Christ as a mediator, the scapegoat typified Satan, the author of sin, upon whom the sins of the truly penitent will finally be placed. When the high priest, by virtue of the blood of the sin offering, removed the sins from the sanctuary, he placed them upon the scapegoat. When Christ, by virtue of His own blood, removes the sins of His people from the heavenly sanctuary at the close of His ministration, He will place them upon Satan, who, in the execution of the judgment, must bear the final penalty. The scapegoat was sent away into a land not inhabited, never to come again into the congregation of Israel. So will Satan be forever banished from the presence of God and His people, and he will be blotted from existence in the final destruction of sin and sinners. (Great Controversy, pg. 422 – Ellen G. White)
Posted on: Mon, 04 Nov 2013 11:01:02 +0000
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