Participants: John Dinzey
Series Code: 10HC
Program Code: 10HC000003
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01:06 Welcome to 3ABN's Fall Camp Meeting
01:10 Homecoming 2010 01:12 featuring inspired messages from your 3ABN family 01:16 along with uplifting Christian music 01:19 all to prepare your heart for the coming of the Lord. 01:26 Good morning. I am so happy to see every one of you here. 01:30 Did you have a good night last night? 01:32 Everybody slept good? We're having beautiful 01:34 sleeping weather and you know it's supposed to get cooler 01:37 tonight. Did you hear that on the weather? 01:39 That gives it even... I sleep better 01:41 when it's nice and cold like that. 01:43 Well I want to welcome all of you here in southern Illinois 01:46 and I want to welcome you that are watching us 01:48 from around the world. 01:49 Welcome to 3ABN's Homecoming Weekend. 01:53 Just a joy to have you with us. 01:55 You that are watching on 3ABN and listening on 3ABN radio: 01:59 we have a listening audience around the world 02:02 and we just welcome every one of you. 02:04 Well this morning we are going to be blessed with John Dinzey. 02:08 John Dinzey has been with 3ABN for almost 21 years. 02:13 He has served in many capacities. 02:15 He was head of our pastoral department for quite some time. 02:18 And then about 7 years ago the Spirit of the Lord 02:21 really started moving on his heart 02:23 and he with a few others approached Danny about having 02:27 a Latino network... a Spanish-speaking network. 02:30 And he is now manager of 3ABN Latino 02:33 and speaks all over the world - 02:36 in the Spanish-speaking areas of the world. 02:39 Does a tremendous job. 02:40 And this morning he's going to be speaking on the red heifer. 02:43 I'm looking forward to hearing that. 02:46 I love that subject. And... but before Pastor Dinzey comes... 02:50 All of you are familiar with Tammy Chance. 02:53 Tammy's going to come now and she's going to sing 02:56 a beautiful song for us. 02:58 A friend of Dr. Walter Thompson and Avon Thompson - 03:02 his name is Leslie Keyes - wrote a beautiful song. 03:06 The name of the song is I Can't Wait To Go Home, 03:09 and Tammy's going to sing it for us. 03:22 In the struggles of this life 03:26 I have often failed to trust Him. 03:31 I am tired of this old world 03:35 we call home. 03:39 I am looking for the coming 03:43 of my blessed Lord and Savior. 03:48 I'm His child... 03:50 I can't wait to go home. 03:56 He has made me, He has kept me 04:01 in the hollow of His hand. 04:05 He is coming soon to take me 04:09 home with Him. 04:13 I still love Him; I still trust Him; 04:18 I will praise His name forever. 04:22 I'm His child... 04:24 I can't wait to go home. 04:30 When I trust in His Word 04:35 all my troubles seem to vanish. 04:39 I have peace 04:42 that I don't understand. 04:48 But my house here is worthless 04:52 and I long to see my Savior. 04:57 I'm His child... 04:59 I can't wait to go home. 05:05 He has made me; He has kept me 05:09 in the hollow of His hand. 05:14 He is coming soon to take 05:18 me home with Him. 05:22 I still love Him; I still trust Him; 05:26 I will praise His name forever. 05:31 I'm His child... 05:33 I can't wait to go home. 05:39 When I think of my home 05:44 that is waiting over yonder 05:48 all the riches of this world 05:52 begin to fade. 05:56 God has promised He is coming 06:01 and will take home to heaven. 06:05 I'm His child... 06:07 I can't wait to go home. 06:13 He has made me; He has kept me 06:18 in the hollow of His hand. 06:22 He is coming soon to take 06:26 me home with Him. 06:30 I still love Him; I still trust Him; 06:35 I will praise His name forever. 06:39 I'm His child... 06:41 I can't wait to go home. 06:47 I'm His child... 06:50 I can't wait to go 06:54 home. 07:11 Amen! Praise the Lord, Amen? 07:14 The Lord is good all the time. Amen. 07:20 Well today we have the privilege to study God's Word together. 07:24 And I'm so glad you're here. 07:27 And we encourage you to open your Bibles and follow along. 07:30 We are going to dig into God's Word. 07:35 The first passage we are going to turn to 07:37 is in the book of Acts. 07:41 The book of Acts chapter 1, actually, 07:44 and that's where we are going to begin as soon as we pray. 07:48 We have prayed, but I'd like to go to the Lord in prayer 07:52 again if you don't mind. 07:55 And I'm going to kneel here - 07:58 you're welcome to remain seated - and pray for yourselves 08:01 and for myself. We're asking for the Lord to bless 08:04 each and every one of us here and those of course that are 08:07 joining us at home. And so we now take this moment 08:11 to pray and ask for the Lord's blessing upon us all. 08:21 Our loving Heavenly Father, 08:23 how great Thou art! 08:26 We thank you, Lord, for the holy scriptures 08:30 that are able to make us wise unto salvation. 08:34 And Father, we want to open the scriptures and see 08:38 the light of Thy truth there. 08:41 So we pray that You will open our understanding. 08:44 We ask, Father, for Your Holy Spirit to be poured out. 08:48 We pray that everyone present will be blessed. 08:51 We pray for those that follow in their homes, 08:54 in prisons, in hospitals... wherever they may be... 08:57 that they, too, will be blessed. 09:00 For we ask that every word will come from Your throne 09:04 of grace. And we pray, Father, 09:09 asking You to bless us. 09:11 I place myself in Your hands, Father. 09:13 I pray that Your name may be glorified 09:16 and Your children will be blessed. 09:18 I ask it in Jesus' name, Amen. Amen. 09:25 Jesus was standing before His disciples. 09:29 As He talked to them, something amazing happened. 09:34 He started going up into heaven 09:37 and the disciples looked as the Master disappeared from sight. 09:41 Let us turn to Acts chapter 1. 09:44 Beginning in verse 6 the Bible tells us: 09:47 "When they therefore were come together 09:52 and they asked of Him saying 'Lord, 09:55 will Thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? ' 10:00 And He said unto them: 'It is not for you to know the time 10:04 or the seasons which the Father hath put in His own power. 10:10 But ye shall receive power 10:14 after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you. 10:16 And ye shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, 10:20 and in Judea, and in Samaria, 10:23 and unto the uttermost part of the earth. ' 10:26 And when He had spoken these things 10:29 while they beheld He was taken up 10:33 and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 10:36 And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven 10:39 as He went up, behold two men stood by them 10:42 in white apparel which also said 10:45 'Ye men of Galilee, 10:47 why stand ye gazing up into heaven? 10:49 This same Jesus 10:54 which is taken up from you into heaven 10:56 shall so come in like manner 11:00 as ye have seen Him go into heaven. ' " 11:04 Amen? So the disciples were looking at this marvelous sight. 11:09 And as they beheld Jesus going up into heaven 11:13 they marveled that He who had walked with them 11:17 was now going to heaven to be with the Father 11:21 and with the holy angels. 11:23 Can you imagine how marvelous it was 11:26 for them to go to the Lord in prayer 11:29 knowing that they had a friend in heaven? 11:33 If you ever want to get into a building... let's say 11:35 you want to get into the White House... 11:38 it would be much easier for you to get there if you say 11:40 "Oh, I know so and so in there. " 11:43 "Oh, you do? " This opens the way for you. 11:47 Now as they prayed in Jesus' name 11:51 they knew that He was there 11:55 ministering in their behalf 11:58 and they knew... their prayers took on a new meaning: 12:01 to pray in Jesus' name. 12:04 Well you see, Jesus is our friend as well. 12:07 And we can come to the Lord in prayer and offer our petitions 12:12 with confidence that the Lord hears each and every one of us. 12:18 But the focus today is the second coming of Jesus Christ 12:23 and a sacrifice called the red heifer. 12:26 In the year 2002 something amazing happened. 12:33 We have this quote: 12:35 "We have been waiting 2,000 years for a sign from God 12:41 and now He has provided us with a red heifer. " 12:46 said Yehuda Etzion, 12:48 the ringleader of the 80's plot to blow up the Dome. 12:52 They had been waiting 2,000 years for a sign from God 12:57 and now the Lord had blessed them with a red heifer. 13:02 And you say: "Why is a red heifer a sign from God 13:07 for the Jews? " 13:10 You see, the Jews cannot begin to sacrifice 13:16 without the sacrifice of the red heifer. 13:19 They must purify themselves and purify the temple 13:24 with the ashes of the red heifer. 13:27 I continue quoting... notice these interesting things: 13:33 "No one may officiate at the temple sacrifice 13:36 who is not ritually or Levitically pure. 13:39 No one can be ritually pure who has not been sprinkled 13:43 with the ashes of the red heifer... " 13:45 According to the rabbis, the only way that the Jews 13:49 could become pure again 13:51 was by being sprinkled with the ashes of a red heifer. 13:55 "That had been mixed with water traditionally drawn 14:00 from the pool of Siloam. 14:02 According to the Mishnah - the written version of the oral 14:05 tradition - the ceremony of the red heifer sacrifice 14:08 has only been performed nine times 14:13 in the history of the Jewish people. 14:15 How many times? Nine times. 14:17 I'm sorry if I asked you that because I'm accustomed to 14:19 doing that with my children. How many times? 14:21 Nine times. Now what happens with the tenth one? 14:24 Listen to this: 14:28 Nine times... "Now, when the tenth heifer appears 14:35 the Messiah will finally come. " 14:40 This is what they believe. 14:43 So when the year 2002... April, 2002... came 14:48 and the red heifer appeared... 14:52 the Messiah is coming! 14:55 Well you see, we understand that the Jews are still waiting 14:58 for the Messiah to come. 15:00 We as Christians believe the Messiah has already come. 15:05 Jesus Christ is THE Messiah 15:07 and He died for our sins. 15:09 While they are waiting for the Messiah to come the first time 15:14 the Messiah - Jesus Christ - is coming the second time 15:19 to take His children home. 15:21 Amen? Amen. 15:23 Now listen to this... we continue: 15:27 "In the Mishnah tractate Parah, we learned that 15:31 there have been a total of 9 perfectly red cows burned. " 15:34 The red heifer is a red cow. 15:38 "The first was under supervision of Moses. 15:41 The second was prepared by Ezra. 15:44 Two by Shimon Ha Tzaddik. Yochanan - the high priest - 15:50 also sacrificed two. 15:52 Eliehoenai, son of Ha-Kof, 15:56 was the seventh red heifer. 15:58 Hanamel the Egyptian burned the eighth. 16:01 The ninth red cow was sacrificed by Ishmael, son of Piabi. 16:06 The tenth red heifer 16:09 will be burned in the time of Mashiach... 16:13 or the Messiah. " 16:15 This is what the Jews believe; 16:16 this is what is in their tradition. 16:19 So you can imagine the excitement 16:21 when the red heifer appeared. 16:24 Unfortunately, it must be a red heifer. 16:29 And at first when they examine the red heifer 16:33 they thought they had, they were so elated 16:37 because the time had come for the Messiah. 16:40 But as they further looked upon the red heifer 16:44 they discovered some white hairs in the tail. 16:48 You see, if you have at least two white hairs 16:52 or black hairs it is no longer a red heifer. 16:54 If it has white hairs, it's a red and white heifer. 16:58 If it has black hairs and red hairs, 17:00 it's a red and black heifer. 17:02 It must be a perfectly red heifer 17:06 according to the scriptures. 17:08 So this is what they've been waiting for, 17:10 and now not only are they waiting for the red heifer 17:14 the tenth red heifer - some of them believe 17:17 that you must mix the ashes of the tenth heifer 17:22 with the ashes of the original heifer. 17:24 So some of them are looking... looking 17:27 with great interest to find the ashes 17:30 of the other red heifers 17:33 which had been mixed with the ashes of the first red heifer. 17:35 And without this they are really - according to their 17:39 understanding - not fulfilling the will of God 17:43 for the Jewish nation. 17:45 So this is a big problem. 17:47 What's another problem? 17:49 Another problem is that upon the site that it is believed 17:53 that the temple should be rebuilt - 17:55 in other words, the third temple - 17:57 what is located there? Can anybody tell me? 18:00 Raise your hand... the Dome of the Rock. 18:03 And this is why if you look into history 18:06 you will find that even in the 80's - as we mentioned - 18:09 there was a plot to blow up the Dome. 18:12 Of course, the authorities stopped this plot 18:16 to blow up the Dome. 18:18 It is said that some found a tunnel 18:22 underneath the temple and were digging under there. 18:24 Explosives were ready when they were found 18:28 just moments before the explosion. 18:32 But you see, if they blow up the red heifer 18:36 there will be an all-out war between the Israelis 18:40 and who? Palestinians... the Muslims. 18:44 And so this is a big problem. 18:46 Several times already... You see, there is a... 18:49 there is what they call a Temple Institute in Jerusalem. 18:52 And the Temple Institute has people there that they have 18:56 great interest in rebuilding the third temple 18:59 to the point that they have already rebuilt 19:04 or made anew many of the vessels that are needed 19:09 to begin sacrificing again. 19:11 Recently, in... beginning 1998... 19:15 they worked upon the altar of sacrifice. 19:21 And they have the candlestick worth millions of dollars 19:27 because it is supposed to be covered by 19:28 what precious metal? Gold. 19:31 So they have this. It's worth millions of dollars. 19:35 And many of the vessels have been reconstructed. 19:38 They have even been working on the priestly clothing. 19:41 And so they are serious about rebuilding the temple. 19:46 Also, you have many Christians of other denominations 19:51 that believe that in order for Jesus Christ to return 19:55 the temple must be rebuilt 19:58 and the people of Israel to begin sacrificing again. 20:02 As Seventh-day Adventists, we do not believe that it is necessary 20:06 for the temple to be rebuilt nor for sacrifices to begin again. 20:11 Let us continue our study. 20:13 One of the individuals that has been involved in this - 20:18 even early in the 90's - is the minister 20:21 of the Baptist church called Calli Lut. 20:25 In the early 90's he was reading about the red heifer 20:28 and realized "Wow, the people of Israel need a red heifer. " 20:33 He is also a farmer 20:35 and had some red cows in his yard... 20:38 in his farm. 20:40 So he said: "I can help these people. " 20:42 So he contacted the Jewish people 20:44 and they became interested. 20:46 He said: "I can show you how to breed a red heifer. " 20:50 They became very interested, 20:52 and so began the conversations with the Jews. 20:54 Enter in then Rabbi Richman 20:58 which became very interested, and then... 21:01 the first effort that yielded a red heifer 21:07 was a cow... a red cow named Melody. 21:11 That was the name they gave the red heifer. 21:14 And they were very excited in 1997... March 1997... 21:19 when Melody was born. They were eager to see 21:22 will it remain a red heifer. 21:24 Unfortunately some white hairs were found in 1997, 21:27 and so they were disappointed. 21:30 So in 2002 when this occurred 21:34 excitement was stirring again 21:36 and many were eager to begin rebuilding the third temple. 21:41 In fact, it has been said that several times 21:46 people from the Temple Institute grabbed this huge 21:50 rock that is to be the cornerstone rock, 21:54 put it upon a truck, and started driving 21:57 towards the Dome of the Rock. 22:00 But each time they have done this they have been stopped 22:04 by the authorities because they know 22:06 it will be a serious war that takes place. 22:12 Rabbi Richman explains this: 22:15 "The prophets of Israel emphasized the fact that 22:19 the temple is really much more than just a synagogue. 22:22 The temple is actually the device 22:25 through which God manifests His presence to mankind. " 22:29 Richman explains that the temple is critical to the Jews. 22:33 "We have this concept that we have 613 commandments 22:38 to fulfill and 1/3 of those commandments 22:41 are dependent in some way 22:44 on the temple for their fulfillment. 22:47 So it is that they have this great desire. 22:50 Because unless they do this they believe 22:53 they are not doing God's will. 22:56 In the year 1999 in Newsweek magazine it is stated 23:01 "The predominant issue in Christian prophecy is 23:04 the return of the Jews to the Holy Land 23:07 and the rebuilding of the temple. " 23:10 See... pretty much across the board 23:14 the majority of the Christian denominations believe 23:17 that the temple must be rebuilt. 23:20 But that is not necessary. 23:22 The Bible says in Matthew 24:14 23:25 and you know it... you can quote it with me... 23:27 "And this gospel of the kingdom 23:30 shall be preached... " Where? In all the world. 23:33 "In all the world for a witness unto all nations 23:37 and then the end shall come. " 23:39 Yes, there are other things that will take place, 23:42 but the temple is not necessary to be rebuilt. 23:48 Brothers and sisters, Jesus Christ is coming soon. 23:51 Amen! 23:53 According to the Midrash in... 23:57 when you... when you go to Numbers 19:3... 23:59 When king Solomon wrote these words 24:03 "I said I would acquire wisdom 24:06 but it is far from me" 24:09 which is in Ecclesiastes 7:23, 24:13 he was alluding to his inability 24:17 to comprehend some of the profound paradoxes 24:20 involved in the commandment of the red heifer. 24:23 This connection is verified in the use of the words 24:26 lehe lehokah which have the same gematria 24:30 441 as the words parah adumah, 24:34 and parah adumah in Hebrew is red heifer. 24:39 So they believe that even Solomon with all the wisdom 24:43 that God blessed him with 24:45 could not understand the mysterious sacrifice 24:49 of the red heifer. 24:52 To conclude this part I must tell you 24:56 that the 2002 red heifer was considered unfit 25:00 for sacrifice but efforts continue to find the ashes of 25:04 the previous red heifers 25:06 and to breed a pure red heifer 25:10 and to build the temple furniture. 25:12 In fact, they are... they also have a 25:17 community where they have Kohanim children 25:19 or children that have been dedicated or separated 25:23 to be prepared to work in the temple 25:26 once it is rebuilt. In order for this to take place 25:30 these children - these people - must avoid 25:34 contact with the dead: 25:37 whether it is to touch a dead bone, 25:40 a dead body, or even as it is spoken in Numbers 19 25:45 if they are in a home and someone dies 25:48 they are considered unclean. 25:54 And so this is a serious problem. 25:57 They are taking precautions and keeping certain people 26:00 separated. Furthermore, through DNA testing 26:04 they are trying to identify who are the Kohanim 26:09 or descendants of the Levites 26:13 that are to work in the temple. 26:15 And so if they are descendants of Aaron 26:20 or the Levites, they are supposed to have... 26:23 all of their DNA should match up. 26:26 So they are doing this type of research. 26:29 Further research continues... even working on things like 26:34 cloning so they won't have this problem with red heifers 26:38 any more. Once they get a pure red heifer 26:41 efforts - according to the documents - 26:46 they are going to try to learn cloning 26:49 to be able to clone red heifers. 26:52 And so you see, they are waiting for the Messiah to come. 26:57 I must tell you that recently I heard that 27:01 they do believe that they finally have a red heifer. 27:04 In fact, there was a... earlier this year 27:07 there was a radio announcement made by a rabbi 27:11 that said: "we have at least one red heifer... 27:16 probably more... ready, fit to be sacrificed. " 27:20 So where is all this taking us? 27:23 Brothers and sisters, this world is in a serious problem. 27:30 There are wars and rumors of wars. 27:34 Already I'm sure you can raise your hand 27:38 if I ask "How many of you see signs? " 27:40 Well, in fact I'll ask for a raising of hands. 27:42 How many of you see signs in what's going on in the world 27:47 that would tell you Jesus Christ is coming soon? 27:50 Would you raise your hand if you see that? 27:52 Praise the Lord! There are many signs 27:54 that tell us Jesus Christ is coming soon. 28:00 But we believe that Jesus Christ fulfilled 28:06 all of the sacrifices and their symbolisms. 28:09 We may not arrive at a complete understanding of how 28:13 this was done in the life of Christ and His sacrifice today, 28:19 but I would like to give you some ideas to get your mind 28:23 working and to further study. 28:25 Let's look at the sacrifice of the red heifer. 28:30 Let us turn our Bibles to the book of Numbers chapter 19. 28:34 Numbers chapter 19. 28:37 In Numbers chapter 19 you have the sacrifice of the red heifer 28:42 and the different elements involved in the sacrifice 28:47 and how a person was to be cleansed or considered... 28:51 that was ritually unclean could be cleansed. 28:54 And each and every specification of detail is found 28:58 in Numbers chapter 19. 28:59 We are not going to be able to read all of chapter 19, 29:02 but we're going to begin reading in verse 1 29:04 and we'll go as far as verse 10. 29:08 Notice what is written in God's Holy Book - the Bible. 29:13 "And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron saying: 29:16 This is the ordinance of the law which the Lord hath commanded 29:21 saying 'Speak unto the children of Israel that they bring 29:24 Me a red heifer without spot 29:28 wherein is no blemish and upon which never came yoke. ' " 29:33 We will come back to these verses. 29:36 "And he shall give her unto Eleazar the priest 29:39 that he may bring her forth without the camp 29:42 and one shall slay her before his face. 29:46 And Eleazar the priest shall take of her blood 29:49 with his finger and sprinkle of her blood 29:52 directly before the tabernacle of the congregation... " 29:55 How many times? "Seven times. 29:58 And one shall burn the heifer in his sight" - 30:03 that is the priest. "Her skin and her flesh 30:06 and her blood with her dung shall he burn. 30:10 And the priest shall take.. " Listen to these things: 30:13 "cedar wood and hyssop and scarlet 30:17 and cast it into the midst of the burning of the heifer. 30:20 Then the priest shall wash his clothes 30:24 and he shall bathe his flesh in water. 30:27 And afterward he shall come into the camp 30:30 and the priest shall be... " What? 30:32 "unclean until the evening. " We'll come back to that. 30:37 And he that burneth her shall wash his clothes 30:40 in water and bathe his flesh in water 30:43 and shall be unclean until the evening. 30:47 And a man that is clean shall gather up the ashes 30:51 of the heifer and lay them up without the camp 30:56 in a clean place and they shall be kept for the congregation 31:00 of the children of Israel 31:02 for a water of purification... sorry, a water of separation. 31:07 It is a purification for sin. " 31:13 A clue there. "And he that gathereth the ashes 31:17 of the heifer shall wash his clothes and shall be unclean 31:21 until the evening. 31:23 And it shall be unto the children of Israel 31:26 and unto the stranger that sojourneth among them 31:29 for a statute forever. " 31:32 Verse 11: "He that toucheth the dead body of any man 31:36 shall be unclean seven days. " 31:39 And if you keep reading it will say 31:42 that he shall purify himself on the third day 31:45 and on the seventh day he shall be considered clean. 31:49 And there are other specifications there 31:52 for different things taking place. 31:54 For example, if a person dies in a tent 31:58 everyone in the tent is unclean. 32:01 Every vessel that is open... unclean. 32:04 So this sacrifice of the red heifer 32:08 is to cleanse not only the people 32:11 but also to cleanse the sanctuary. 32:13 And it is also a sacrifice for purification 32:18 and a sacrifice for sin. 32:21 So, was the red heifer sacrifice needed? 32:25 Yes. God ordained it to be so. 32:28 Do we need the sacrifice of the red heifer today? 32:32 No! The true sacrifice of the red heifer - 32:38 Jesus Christ - has already taken place. 32:41 Amen? Now let's look at some of these things. 32:44 One of the reasons why this is considered a mysterious 32:49 sacrifice... there were other sacrifices that were done 32:52 outside the camp. But one of the reasons this is considered 32:55 a mysterious sacrifice is that everyone involved in the process 33:00 of sacrificing the red heifer - the red cow - 33:04 is considered unclean. 33:05 The priest is supposed to grab the blood 33:09 and sprinkle towards the temple. How many times? 33:12 Seven times... signifying a perfect and complete 33:16 cleansing done by the act of the sacrifice. 33:20 It's an ample sacrifice. 33:24 And once the priest is done he is considered unclean 33:29 until the evening. No other sacrifice 33:32 made the priest unclean as the sacrifice of the red heifer. 33:37 The person that burned the red heifer is considered unclean. 33:41 The person that grabs the ashes is considered unclean 33:45 until the evening. 33:46 And it is strange that even when someone has to be 33:51 cleansed, what they would do is 33:54 uh, when the sprinkling of a person that is ritually unclean 33:59 would have to be done, they would take the ashes 34:02 and put pure water on the ashes 34:06 and now they have like reconstituted blood. 34:12 And then they would take of the ashes 34:15 and sprinkle upon the person that needs to be purified. 34:20 Understood? Amen? 34:23 Amen. I heard a rumbling amen, amen... 34:28 So this is the sacrifice of the red heifer. 34:31 How does Christ fulfill the ashes of the red heifer? 34:36 There are some details. Notice these things... 34:40 Let's go back to the beginning of Numbers chapter 19. 34:44 Notice - number two - it says that this sacrifice 34:48 according to what it says was supposed to be without spot. 34:53 So... or blemish. Question: 34:57 was Christ without spot or blemish? 35:00 Amen! The Bible says that He was tempted in all points 35:04 just like we are and found without sin. 35:08 Amen? Without spot or blemish! 35:12 Christ never sinned... not by thought, 35:15 not by action, not by His words. 35:17 He remained clean, pure, holy... undefiled. 35:23 So this aspect of the red heifer Christ fulfilled. 35:26 The verse... verse 2 also says: 35:30 "Upon which never came yoke. " 35:34 So what... how you do describe this yoke? 35:37 It is... suggestion for you is that 35:41 when you put a yoke on an animal it's to work. 35:44 He's under a burden, right? 35:48 So you can consider that to be the burden of sin... 35:53 Christ never sinned. Also, we as humans - 35:58 even the angels - are subject to the law of God. 36:02 All created beings are subject to the law of God. 36:05 Christ as divine is beyond the law 36:09 because He is the author of the law. 36:13 Amen? And so I would like to, uh, 36:18 read some verses for you that have some of these things 36:22 that will be included. 36:25 Now one of the items of the red heifer 36:28 was a scarlet wool. 36:33 If you go to, ummm, 36:38 verse... lost my verse... 36:42 verse 6: "And the priest shall take cedar wood and hyssop 36:45 and scarlet and cast it into the midst 36:47 of the burning of the red heifer. " 36:49 Let us turn in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 27. 36:52 Matthew chapter 27. 36:56 In Matthew chapter 27 we have 36:58 the time when Christ is being sacrificed. 37:01 And in Matthew chapter 27 and verse 28 37:04 you will notice even the use of scarlet. 37:08 There were several sacrifices that involved scarlet. 37:11 But notice in Matthew 27 and verse 28... 37:14 Let's begin in verse 27: 37:16 "Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus 37:19 into the common hall and gathered unto Him the 37:22 whole band of soldiers. And they stripped Him 37:25 and put on Him a scarlet robe. " 37:28 Scarlet wool was put into the sacrifice of the red heifer. 37:32 So we here see the scarlet being used during the time 37:36 of Christ's suffering for us. 37:39 Now when you go... When you go to Numbers 37:42 chapter 19 verse 6, one of the items that was also used there 37:46 was hyssop. So for hyssop let us turn in our Bibles 37:52 to John chapter 19. 37:54 John chapter 19. 37:57 Even before we read it you may already remember 38:00 some of the words of this moment in Christ's suffering. 38:05 In John chapter 19 we are going to read 38:10 beginning verse 28. 38:17 "After this... " We're in John chapter 19 verse 28 38:21 and onward... "After this Jesus 38:23 knowing that all things were now accomplished 38:26 that the scripture might be fulfilled said: 38:29 'I thirst. ' " And He really was thirsty. 38:32 He really was suffering on the cross. 38:36 You see He had been up there several hours 38:39 in the heat of the sun. 38:41 We read "to fulfill scripture" but He was literally 38:45 very thirsty in the heat of the sun. He had been beaten. 38:50 He had been tortured... near death. 38:55 You see, when they whipped Him it was a severe beating. 39:00 Severe, severe beating. 39:02 And you may have heard this before, 39:03 when they whipped somebody like this, they put either 39:07 bones or some metal so that when you whipped the person 39:11 it would dig into the flesh and pull flesh out 39:14 and blood would start squirting out. 39:17 So He had loss of blood, 39:19 sweating in the heat of the sun... 39:22 He was thirsty. 39:26 He said: "I thirst. " 39:28 Verse 29: 39:30 "Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar 39:34 and they filled a sponge with vinegar 39:37 and put it upon hyssop 39:40 and put it to His mouth. " 39:43 Verse 30: "When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar 39:46 He said 'It is finished' 39:48 and He bowed His head and He gave up the ghost. " 39:52 So we see another item used in the sufferings of Christ. 39:57 Hyssop was used during His suffering. 40:01 Now one of the items that was used is cedar wood 40:03 in the sacrifice of the red heifer. 40:05 Where do you find cedar wood? 40:07 I don't have a clear answer for that. 40:09 We know He was sacrificed on a cross made out of wood. 40:15 A suggestion has been made that when you have hyssop 40:18 which is the soft vegetation and when you have cedar 40:23 which is a strong wood... 40:26 Have you heard of the cedars of Lebanon? 40:29 There was pride in the cedars of Lebanon in Israel. 40:32 Strong wood... also used for preservation. 40:39 And so some have suggested that the cedar wood - 40:45 it preserves - and may have been used at the cross 40:50 or even the sign that was above His head. 40:52 We don't know. 40:54 But cedar wood has been suggested that just as 40:57 cedar wood is preserving, 41:00 the sacrifice of Christ, 41:01 the blood that He shed for us, 41:03 preserves us completely clean. 41:06 Amen? Amen. 41:09 Let us now go to hyssop again. 41:15 In Psalms... Psalms chapter 51... 41:20 you may recognize this verse as well. 41:23 Psalm 51. In Psalm 51 we have what is considered to be 41:28 the confession of David because of his horrible, horrible sin. 41:34 And in Psalm 51 you can see him crying out to the Lord. 41:38 I'll read verse 1: 41:39 "Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Thy lovingkindness. 41:44 According unto the multitude of Thy tender mercies 41:47 blot out my transgressions. " 41:51 You want your transgressions blotted out? 41:56 Verse 2: "Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity 42:01 and cleanse me from my sin. " 42:04 He is crying out to the Almighty God. 42:08 He alone can cleanse from sin. 42:13 There is nothing upon this earth that can cleanse you from sin... 42:19 only the blood of Jesus Christ. 42:24 There is no cleanser upon this earth 42:27 that... there are cleansers that make great and incredible claims 42:31 that can cleanse, bleach out, and remove all kinds of stains. 42:38 But they cannot remove the stain of sin... 42:41 only the blood of Jesus Christ. 42:46 So when you see David calling out for God to cleanse him 42:49 and wash him completely, 42:51 I encourage you to identify with him. 42:53 We all need to be washed, cleansed from our sins. 42:58 Let us move to verse 3: 43:02 "For I acknowledge my transgressions 43:05 and my sin is ever before me. " 43:08 You see, we must acknowledge our transgressions. 43:11 ALL have sinned and come short of the glory of God. 43:15 So before you come before a holy, righteous, pure, 43:21 undefiled God, dare not to stand before Him 43:26 thinking that you have righteousness of your own. 43:30 For none of us are righteous unless we put on Jesus Christ 43:36 and His robe of righteousness. 43:39 Verse 7: "Purge me with hyssop 43:44 and I shall be clean. 43:46 Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow. " 43:53 Amen? Verse 8: 43:55 "Make me to hear joy and gladness 43:59 that the bones which Thou hast broken may rejoice. 44:02 Hide Thy face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities. " 44:07 Verse 10: 44:08 "Create in me a clean heart, O God, 44:12 and renew a right spirit within me. " 44:16 Amen! 44:18 So there in Psalm 51 we not only see David asking 44:22 for a cleaning from sin, asking Him to wash him 44:25 thoroughly... make him pure, clean... 44:28 but he is also asking God to purge him with hyssop - 44:34 a complete cleansing - but also he is saying: 44:39 "Lord, create in me a clean heart" - a clean mind - 44:43 and renew a right spirit within me. " 44:46 This is a complete surrender to God. 44:51 Renunciation of sin, forsaking the evil that he has done, 44:56 and asking God to put such a desire in him 45:00 so that he does not do those things again. 45:04 This is what we need. Amen? 45:06 We need the cleansing, the purification, 45:10 that the blood of Christ can bring - 45:12 the true red heifer sacrifice - 45:14 but also to put in us a right spirit 45:19 and create in us a clean heart so that we will say 45:22 "I don't want to do those horrible things any more. 45:26 I want to be done with them. 45:28 I don't want to hurt myself nor others any more. 45:32 I want to be pure, blameless, undefiled. " 45:36 And by God's grace we can say 45:42 with Paul: "I can do all things 45:46 through Christ who strengtheneth me. " 45:52 The sacrifice was made outside of the camp 45:57 according to Numbers 19. 46:00 Now in Hebrews chapter 13 46:03 we have these wonderful words: 46:07 Hebrews 13 beginning in verse 11: 46:09 "For the bodies of those beasts whose blood is brought 46:13 into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin 46:17 are burned without the camp. 46:19 Wherefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people 46:24 with His own blood suffered without the gates. 46:30 Let us go therefore unto Him without the camp 46:34 bearing His reproach. " 46:35 Why was Jesus Christ crucified 46:40 outside of the camp? 46:42 This is a message to all of us. 46:44 It's a message to the people of Israel. 46:47 The Messiah has come, 46:50 and His sacrifice is not only for the Jews 46:54 but for the whole world. Amen? 46:58 That's why Christ died, suffered, was crucified 47:03 outside of the camp: 47:05 because His sacrifice is a sacrifice for the whole world. 47:10 Not just the Jews... the whole world. 47:13 And praise be to God that He is able to save to the uttermost 47:19 all that come unto Him. 47:21 In fact, Jesus says 47:24 "Him that cometh unto Me 47:27 I will in no wise cast out. " 47:30 So however defiled you may be - 47:34 however sinful you may consider yourself to be... 47:38 This past week I heard two people say the same thing. 47:42 "I was filthy, dirty... 47:46 and Christ cleansed me and I have peace. " 47:54 The other person said: "I feel filthy. " 47:57 And the only One that can cleanse her is Jesus Christ. 48:02 The only One that can cleanse you, 48:05 the only One that can cleanse me is Jesus Christ 48:09 and the sacrifice that He made. 48:12 I read to you from Testimonies volume 4 page 122. 48:17 "The priest used cedar and hyssop, dipping them 48:20 into the cleansing water and sprinkling the unclean. 48:24 This symbolized the blood of Christ 48:27 spilled to cleanse us from moral impurities. 48:31 The repeated sprinkling illustrates the thoroughness 48:35 of the work that must be accomplished for the 48:38 repenting sinner. All that he has must be consecrated. 48:43 Not only should his own soul be washed clean and pure 48:47 but he should strive to have his family, 48:50 his domestic arrangement, his property, 48:53 and his entire belongings consecrated to God. " 48:58 Amen? All of us. Our homes, 49:03 our families, every one in our family consecrated 49:07 to God. 49:11 In this same page 123 of Testimonies volume 4 - 49:17 it is also stated that the blood of Christ is "efficacious. " 49:22 That means it can do a thorough, cleansing work. 49:25 But it must be applied daily. 49:29 We need the blood of Jesus Christ daily. 49:33 Daily we must have the blood 49:37 of our Savior to cleanse us from sin. 49:41 In Hebrews chapter 9 verses 11 through 14 49:45 we have these wonderful words. 49:47 Hebrews chapter 9 verses 11 through 14. 49:52 Hebrews 9, verses 11 through 14: 49:56 "Thus it is written, but Christ 49:59 being come a high priest of good things to come 50:03 by a greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands" 50:07 that is to say, not of this building, in other words, 50:10 in heaven - "neither by the blood of goats 50:14 and calves but by His own blood 50:17 He entered in once into the Holy Place 50:19 having obtained eternal redemption for us. " 50:23 Amen to that! 50:25 "For if the blood of bulls and of goats 50:30 and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the unclean" - 50:34 that is the red heifer - 50:36 "sanctified to the purifying of the flesh, " 50:40 notice this wonderful scripture - 50:42 "how much more shall the blood of Christ 50:47 who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself 50:50 without spot to God, purge your conscience 50:55 from dead works, to serve the living God! " 50:59 Amen? 51:01 So if the blood of bulls and even the red heifer 51:06 can purify to the sanctifying of the flesh, 51:08 how much more the blood of Jesus Christ! 51:14 That's why John the Baptist said: 51:19 "Behold the Lamb of God 51:21 that taketh away the sins of the world. " 51:26 You want your sins to be taken away? 51:29 Do you want to be purified, made righteous and clean, 51:32 undefiled from all of your sins however small, however great? 51:37 However many? 51:40 Christ is the way, and there's no other name 51:46 among men... given among men... 51:51 whereby we must be saved. 51:53 That is: Jesus Christ. 51:55 The true Messiah has already come. 52:00 The true sacrifice for our sins has already been done. 52:04 No more sacrifices are needed. 52:07 The sacrifice to end all sacrifices has been made, 52:12 and all who are willing can come and be cleansed. 52:18 So I read to you now from a well-known verse. 52:24 And I would like to make that same invitation 52:26 as found in this verse. 52:30 In Isaiah chapter 1... Isaiah chapter 1. 52:36 Thus it is written beginning verse 16: 52:41 "Wash you, make you clean. 52:46 Put away the evil of your doings from before Mine eye! 52:51 Cease to do evil. " 52:53 This is God's invitation. 52:57 Verse 17: "Learn to do well! 53:00 Seek justice, relieve the oppressed, 53:03 Judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. " 53:06 Verse 18: "Come now and let us reason together, 53:11 saith the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet 53:14 they shall be as white as snow. 53:18 Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. 53:23 If ye be willing and obedient, 53:26 ye shall eat the good of the land. 53:30 But if you refuse and rebel 53:35 you shall be devoured with the sword. 53:36 For the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. " 53:39 The invitation of the Lord is 53:41 "Come... let us reason together. " 53:46 I would like to invite you if it's possible for you 53:49 to come forward and make a prayer of dedication, 53:52 sanctification to the Lord. If you perhaps came here 53:56 and feel that you need to be cleansed 53:58 and you need the blood of Christ to be applied to you, 54:01 I invite you to stand and come forward. 54:03 Some may be able to walk all the way to the front. 54:05 Some may be able to just stand. 54:07 If you feel that you need this cleansing that God alone 54:12 can provide through the blood of Jesus Christ, 54:14 I want you to stand. Praise the Lord. 54:18 Praise the Lord. Notice the invitation again. 54:23 God is asking us to wash ourselves. 54:27 It is a choice that we have. 54:30 Wash you... make you clean. 54:34 This invitation of wash... make you clean is a renunciation, 54:37 a giving up of a life of sin 54:41 to live a life united with Christ 54:46 and to allow Him full and complete control of our lives. 54:52 Consecrated to Him to be used by Him. 54:57 Whenever He says "My child, speak unto this person 55:03 these words: let your light so shine before men 55:08 that they may see your good works and glorify your Father 55:13 which is in heaven. " It is time for God's people to shine. 55:17 It is time for God's people to reveal 55:22 God living in them... Jesus Christ living in them. 55:26 You know, there's a wonderful invitation here for us. 55:30 "Come, let us reason together. 55:33 Though your sins be as scarlet. " 55:36 Though your sins be as scarlet is trying to help us understand. 55:41 If they could be... if they're the worst you could 55:44 consider them to be or the world could consider them to be, 55:50 the invitation is: "You can be cleansed. " 55:53 And again, reading the verse it says: 55:57 "Come now and let us reason together saith the Lord. 56:00 Though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow. 56:03 Though they be red like crimson they shall be as wool. " 56:08 By God's grace, everyone here will receive that blessing 56:13 because of the precious blood of the true red heifer 56:17 that was sacrificed for us 56:19 that is able to completely cleanse us from all sin 56:22 and unrighteousness. Let us pray together. 56:27 Our loving Heavenly Father, 56:30 how grateful we are, Lord, 56:32 that the blood of Jesus Christ can cleanse us 56:36 completely from all sins. 56:40 We thank you, Father, that we can come to You 56:43 with the confidence that we are not going to be rejected. 56:47 And thus we are also thankful that the door of mercy 56:52 is still open and we can go in through that door of mercy 56:56 and receive forgiveness of our sins. 56:59 And so we ask that You will fulfill Your promise 57:01 in I John chapter 1 verses 8 and 9 57:03 that if we confess our sins You are faithful and just 57:07 to forgive us for our sins and to cleanse us 57:11 from all unrighteousness. 57:14 Lord, your children have asked for this cleansing; 57:17 we ask for it to be done. 57:19 We pray that the blood of Christ will cleanse us completely. 57:23 Purge our conscience and create in us, O Lord, 57:26 a clean heart and renew a right spirit within us. 57:30 We ask You for these blessings in Jesus' name, Amen. Amen. 57:35 Praise the Lord. Thanks be to Christ. 57:39 You may sit... you may be seated. 57:41 Thanks be to Christ for this sacrifice. 57:43 And we hope that you at home have also prayed with us 57:46 and dedicated your life to the Lord. 57:49 Don't hesitate for a moment to come to Christ, 57:52 for He is able to cleanse you completely 57:55 and His arms are open wide to receive you. 57:58 May God bless you and continue to bless you 58:01 as you search for Him with all of your heart. |
Revised 2014-12-17