04/12/2020 - BYM Worship

Last Lord's Day, commonly called Easter Sunday or more properly Resurrection Sunday, Pastor John set the stage for his talk to us by reading from the Apostle Paul's letter to the Ephesians, chapter 1, verse 7:

“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.” Alright, then: no more chronic sacrifice of unblemished large animals like sheep for the forgiveness of sins; the one-time sacrifice of the Son of God, the one perfect being who ever existed, covered the terrible penalty of sin for each of us forever - if only we sincerely repent and continue to believe for the rest of our lives!

Pastor John soon made this memorable point about blood:

It has been reliably reported that blood plasma from Covid-19 survivors offers immunity to that particular virus through blood transfusions to needy hospital patients. Good to know, right?

But: the blood of Jesus wipes away our sins and gives us eternal life. This is more important than the Covid-19 immunity to the Nth degree! In this we are talking about immunity against death; so that physical death cannot hurt you; it cannot harm you; it is the gateway to eternal life.

Always bear in mind that the 66 books of the Bible all contribute to the same message. That's why Pastor John could quote from both the Old and New Testaments to illustrate the saving power of Jesus's blood:

Psalm 103:12 “as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” This from the Old Testament forecast the power of what the Christ did on the cross many centuries before it happened!

Decades after the crucifixion, the Apostle Paul dwelt on this in his Letter the the Romans, as Pastor John quoted from twice:

Romans 8:11 “And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.”

- and also -

Romans 8:24 “For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have?”

Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus daily helps us to overcome. So no matter what happens in our lives – auto accident, cancer, job loss, some pandemic, you-name-it - there is no reason for despair because in His blood we have the power we need to live victoriously.

This is the Easter message we need to keep in mind through thick and thin. Best for the rest of the week!