Leonard Ravenhill emphasizes the significance of the purifying blood of Jesus, highlighting that true life is not found in material possessions but in spiritual purity and obedience to God. He reflects on the importance of the Holy Spirit in guiding believers towards a deeper understanding of faith and love, urging them to embrace the narrow path that leads to eternal life. Ravenhill also discusses the eternal priesthood of Christ, who intercedes for believers, ensuring their spiritual growth and purity in a world filled with challenges. He encourages the congregation to recognize their identity in Christ and the power of His blood to cleanse and sustain them in their journey of faith.

Our God and Father, we bring to thee our offering of praise and of thanksgiving this afternoon. We're glad for returning the dear ones who have been far places and bringing them safe from danger, seen and unseen. We trust that their strength is in body and mine done in spirit too. We thank you for calling us together. The word says that where two or three are gathered, if we had gathered them, we might have hustled a lot of people in. But we dare to believe that you have gathered us this afternoon. We came at your call, not by the call of man, not by any human demand. We thank you for our recognition too that anything which is done that is constructive and lasting must be done by this wonderful person, the Holy Spirit of whom we've been singing. We have put an expression in our heads, more about Jesus let me learn. Possibly we've learned many things since we were last together. And yet there is an inexhaustible supply of knowledge and wisdom. There are still new discoveries for us to make in the areas of faith and love and obedience and courage. We thank you for bringing us to the school this afternoon. And as the hymn writer says, Spirit of God my teacher be, show him the things of Christ to me. We marvel at your great love, we are singing that hymn, I know not why God's wondrous grace to me he hath made known. Or why unworthy Christ in love redeemed me. There are millions in this very country, there are tens of millions, there are thousands of millions actually around the world. Who still sit in darkness and the shadow of death. There are some who could have light and they don't want it, there are some who want light and they can't get it. There are some who think that the things they eat and wear and touch and buy and sell make up life. And there are others who know that these things are not life at all. Your word makes it very clear because you said the man's true life you said is true life consistent not in the abundance of things that he possesses. What good is it possessing the world if we've lost our own soul, your word asks the question. We thank you for giving us some measure of illumination. We thank you for our growth in grace, we're not the dwarfs we used to be, we're not yet the giants we want to be. We've come a long way but we want to go much further by your guidance, by your spirit. We thank you the spirit is the spirit of truth and he will guide us, you very definitely mark that out for us. We don't know the way to take, we come to the fork in the road and yet you said that when we would go one way or the other by mears you'll hear a voice behind me saying this is the way walking when you would turn to the right or to the left. Obviously you want us to get moving, you didn't say if we sit in a chair you'll come and tell us, you said as we walk in the way you'll show us whether to turn right or left. Someone has said you never employ lazy men, you give tasks to the busy men, you found a busy man Moses and you used him and you found other busy men. Even our Lord Jesus didn't sit under the tree all day, he worked to have the stand, he was a carpenter and he did the menial tasks. And we thank you Lord for employing the unemployable and we thank you for employing those who are employable. We thank you that you don't see our handicaps as we see them and you don't see our wisdom as we see it. We're in a different school, we're so glad you're not like the school teachers, they have their favourites in the class, not always the best boys as we thought but they have their favourites. But Lord we know that you understand us very differently, we're so glad again for this inexhaustible world. We think of countries where this word cannot be propagated, where it's not permissible to own the bible, where it's not permissible to meet together. And we think of those back down the ages, all the marvellous men and women who translated this word and often smuggled it from one country to another and even ended up burning at the stake because they wanted every plough boy to have it. We thank you it got out of the hands of the mere scholars and the hierarchy who would teach it their way and you gave us the book. And you gave us the spirit who wrote the book and you've given us the Christ who the book is all about. And as we come to your word again we thank you that whatever our appetite may be that there's sufficient in it to satisfy us. If we've come with a little appetite we'll soon be fed, if we've come with an insatiable thirst you'll still satisfy us. And Lord we pray that this meeting small though it may be in the eyes of the world yet that it may count for eternity, count in our own lives. Give us some surprises from your word, give us some attacks as it were, ambushes, shoot the arrows of God at us at the moment we don't expect it. Touch us in spots where we think we don't need touching and shows that where we're strong we're only weak anyhow. And very often where we have weakness that's our very strength. And we wait on thee to renew our strength before we set off again on our pilgrim journeys to a hostile world that loves thee not. And because it loves thee not it loves us not. But Lord we're glad we've made our choice in thee. We've so often decided to follow Jesus and Lord we haven't changed that decision we want to press toward the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Lord we do bless us as parents that we may have wisdom with our children whether they're living at home or they've left us we're still their parents. And we pray that that love may increase because for those who have the younger children that they may mould them not merely by word or discipline of word or discipline of a rod but by the very presence, illumination of a Christ filled life. That we should be radiant in the midst of the trials of life that they'll see us buoyant. Being able to ride the storm where others go down. Being able to triumph where others get defeated. Being able to smile where others get into mockishness and tears and self pity and weakness. For all your mercies we give you thanks. And as one old hymn writer said glory to thee for all the grace I have not tasted yet. If there's a bigger need there'll be bigger supplies. If there are bigger mountains to scale there'll be greater strength to scale them. If there's a Goliath to meet you'll give us the equipment if it's as foolish as a sling and a stone while the rest of the world looks on. So equip us that Lord while we live in a day when it seems there are many Goliaths there are no giants about to slay them. So raise out of us the simple Davids. And with a shepherd's sling and a stone can do what an army cannot do. Can do what a king with his breastplate and his shield and his helmet a great sword could not do. Thank you who take the weak things the things that are not to bring to nought the things that are that no flesh should glory in your presence. For we pray that we may be so totally thine that the flesh will not intrude in any way either in our meeting now or in our journey as we go on our pilgrim way. Bless the absent friend and think of what a calling again bless him bless him make this a good day for him for Phyllis wherever she may be. The others if they're in Hawaii and give them his wife wherever they may be and the others will come in now and again bless them all. And Lord again we are here to meet thee as much as we love each other and like to see each other and hear each other we want to see thee and hear thy voice. I'm telling thee we'll do thy will in these new things. We have a new treasurer so that's Carson nice to have her today. She hopes you're in New York so much when you come back. Nice to see the one of you that's all the way from Cape Cod and again that will replace Disneyland. And the other thoughts that have been around and I don't know if we've been good these days. Frank's got on his exam and I hope he'll feel better now. Ok we're in now have been for some weeks in the fifth chapter of Matthew. Again the as we've said often the greatest sermon ever preached by the greatest man that ever lived was the attitudes. And remember we've played on the words and said they should be attitudes of our lives. Again reminding ourselves that while he gives as he will the gifts of the spirit to one he gave this and to one he gave the other. He did not say that about the fruit to the spirit. The gifts are given singularly because they're so magnificent that there may be people who have one or two. I've never met anybody as I said last week I've never met anyone who had all the gifts of the spirit except a man and woman who had them all. And told us about it for about four days and then at breakfast the last morning tell us they were going to get a divorce. Well that sounds like the spirit for life doesn't it in reverse. The gifts may be given one here one there but I believe that all the fruits love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, meekness, goodness, temperance, faith. These should be in every life. It's like plucking a grape off a bunch. It isn't as symmetrical to me it isn't as attractive if you just pull one grape off. And they may not all blossom at the same time but they should be there. And they will be by the grace of God. And then again this sermon of the Beatitude is to my mind it's almost a classical example of the spirit for life. Again we start at the bottom run of the ladder blessed are the poor and as I said again to remind these dear ones who are fresh. That if Jesus had started off with blessed are the pure everybody would have backed off. It would have scared them off. It would have said well there's no chance I'm going away next week I won't bother to come back. But instead of saying blessed are the pure he said blessed are the poor. And we have to come nothing in my hands I bring but simply to thy cross I cling. Doesn't matter how intellectual you are or how high socially or what free knowledge you may have theologically. Blessed are the poor in spirit. And then remember that there are two sides to the coin all the way through. Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Again notice how often this is in the present tense. There shall be the kingdom of heaven. Oh I'm going to go to heaven one day. No the kingdom of God is within you. Jesus is the king. King of kings lord of lords. Many many churches in England and maybe in this country Episcopali would begin by singing on the Lord's day morning. The king of love my shepherd is. It's a very beautiful hymn. And he is the king of love and he is the king of glory. And he is the king of kings. And a little bit of that kingdom has come into our hearts already. Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom. We used to sing a hymn we're marching to Zion. Any of you old folk know that. We're marching to Zion. You know it Frank. But anyhow. One verse of that hymn says that the hill of Zion yields a thousand sacred sweets before we reach the heavenly fields or walk the golden streets. You know some people went into Canaan and when they got there they were terrified. You can't always take the majority vote you know. Usually they're out anyhow. The majority vote said let's not go into Canaan. Why? Because the walls are to high heaven and oh it's a terrible country. Sure it was. It depends how you look at it. One of them said if we go in there they'll eat us. The other two said if we go in there we'll eat them. They're bread for us. I like that. But they're bread for us. How many kings were there? 32? 32 kings and they licked all of them. They licked 31 of them. And they only got cheated once and that was when they were still in the camp. Because God has not geared us in the spirit to be defeated. I don't know anything else that the one author has ever said. I know she sings his eyes on the sparrows. He's older than the sparrows she sings about. But one thing she said years ago was this. That God never sponsors a flop. I think that's pretty smart. You should be tucked in there with Solomon's wise saying. Women like me are so smart. But everyone is saying God doesn't sponsor a flop. And God never intended for you and I to flop. Again God is so gracious he'll share his power. He shall receive power the Holy Ghost coming upon you. And he'll share his wisdom. Christ is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification. But he never never never anywhere hinted even never mind said he never hints that we'll be infallible. There's no such thing as a human infallibility. We're all very fallible. And the older you get the more you realize that don't you? You realize the mistakes you've made and how did I do that? I should have done that. It's as clear as anything. Oh there should be another beatitude. Blessed is hindsight. You know when you're like oh of course. I mean it's so clear. Now you're through the fog. Well but when you were there it was so thick of a fog. Your mind was so boggled that you didn't see it. But there you are. But again the spirit is made to us the spirit of wisdom. And the kingdom of God is already within us. Now there's an expansion. As I said often. I do not for many reasons. We'll just cover it here. But I do not believe in instant maturity. I do believe in instant purity. And when you've climbed up this ladder as we have climbed. We got last week to the verse. Blessed are the pure in heart. Now a thing is either clean or unclean. There are no degrees of purity. There may be degrees of wisdom. There may be degrees of strength. But there are no degrees of purity. In the mind it's either pure or it's impure. But when the heart has been purified. It stays purified as long as we stay in the place of obedience. But that doesn't mean I know everything. There's nothing more detestable than meeting somebody who knows everything. Still a few of them. Unfortunately. It seems that. Oh well I'll tell you. You know what. And so you back off and let them talk. You know. They think they've done good. I often have chuckled when I've listened to somebody who has given me a real brow beating. And I think bless him. He went away thinking boy I really wrote great. I really got that. And he never affected me that much. He just made up a lot of speech. Maybe he was going to have a row with his wife. He thought he was taking it out of me. Well it's better he took it out of me anyhow. But you meet that kind of people. That kind of person. But again the spirit. The true spiritual person. If Christ lives in me. Christ is humble. Blessed Jesus says I am meek and lowly of heart. And there's not only poverty. We come through poverty. He says blessed are the meek. But the compensation is they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are the merciful. For they shall obtain mercy. With what measure ye meet. It shall be meted unto you again. The golden rule that the world quotes very often. Isn't it? As you would that men should do unto you. So do ye also unto them. You can't live that. It's a total impossibility. You can't. No man can live the summer on the mount outside of Jesus Christ. I was thinking I don't know early this morning. Some people were looking at TV. But I was awake. Meditating on the message. And I was thinking about the third chapter there in Acts. Acts 3 where Peter and John went up to the temple at the hour of prayer. Now that kind of staggers me. Why in the world did they go to the temple? The folk in the temple didn't believe what Peter and John believed in. Peter and John didn't believe what they believed in. So for where? Why do you go there? And that made me realize again there are only two ways. There are two ways. Two roads. And they run side by side. But the traffic goes opposite ways. There's a broad way that leads us to destruction. Even if it's paved with gold it still leads to hell. If it's paved with faith it leads to hell. When we were in New York sometimes we'd go around Broadway and West 44th Street. And more than once I saw some young woman standing there looking up. She got her name up in light I guess for the first time. Boy she felt as big as Manhattan Island. Got my name up in lights. Somebody taking a picture of it. Somebody asking for an autograph. But the good book you know is never wrong when it says the way of destruction is a broad way. Significant they call Broadway the broad way anyhow but it's not the only broad way. And as broad as it is it's a popular way. It's an expensive way. Nobody gives you anything on that road. You have to pay a lot to go to hell rather than go to heaven. You have to make your choice and if you go the broad way it leads us to destruction. The narrow way leads us to life eternal and the scripture is very emphatic. Few there be that find it. You can tell me about all the revivals charismatic or any other revivals you like right now. You can include them all and it's a decimal fraction of the population of America and the population of the world. They're very, very, very, very, very, very few people. They want to be disciples but not disciples who take up their cross. And you cannot be a disciple without you take up your cross. Peter and John went up to the temple at the hour of prayer. This system is a system of blood sacrifice. And this new system is a system of blood sacrifice which makes obsolete the other blood sacrifice. And I do not see what point they had when people have said to me as they have often. Well I've gone to this church and I was raised as a child and I'm in it now and this has happened in it and that has happened in it. Or they may say well look I've recently really got saved and the spirit has come in me and I'm having hostility in the church. Should I leave it? Now if that's the reason if they say because I've just got filled with the spirit and I'm having a rough time. I say no, no because the first thing they'll say is oh well he got filled with the spirit. You know what over the week he was superior to all of us. He shook us all off and said I'm sorry you're not travelling fast enough. I'm just about to go. It's a 30 mile limit here I'm going to 75 mile an hour traffic leave you all behind. The best thing to do I think is to go till they throw you out. And then the onus is on them not on you. And it will happen sure enough. Sure as people say sometimes well if I get saved well I have to give up this man and give up that friendship. And you say no don't give anything up. Why not because they'll give you up that's why. Boy you'll soon be an odd you know you'll be like a six length sheep in the middle of the frog. Everybody will look at you and say oh sure he isn't what he used to be. He doesn't curse, he doesn't drink anymore, he doesn't do this, doesn't do that. And if you move into other areas of spirituality. You know I think that this text actually is the much less I'm going to say genesis I haven't got the right word. I think it's the aspiration of every religion in the world. People are seeking for purity. That's what they really want. They're laden with guilt if conscience is working at all. They're terrified of death. They're afraid of the past catching up with them. And whether they go to a shrine. Little old wrinkled lady goes up a mountain there in Japan this morning. And it takes her three or four hours to get up. And she throws some grains of incense in the next big volcano. And she comes down shaking on a stick. And you say what did you do? And she stammers out she paid a tribute to her God. And she said a prayer. And you say well was it answered? And she said well of course I don't know. You see as somebody has said. I used to say it often in street meetings. Ours is a no soul religion. We know in whom we have belief. We're not left hanging in mid air. It's not a cliff hanging experience. We know in whom we have belief. We have assurance. Blessed assurance gives us his mind. And this is the wonder of the gospel of the grace of God. We know in whom we have belief. We've chosen to go the narrow way that lead us to life eternal. Now I say this is an aspiration that every healthy person has. I don't have to describe it except maybe I see. It's almost like a man on his tip toes reaching for the highest thing that's possible. While I'm still in the flesh. And that is purity of heart. And purity of motive. And purity of desire toward God. Purity in every area. Every appetite of my body purified. And the dangerous thing is that when it's another branch of the same thing. That if I'm totally committed to him then God has total rights. That's what it means over me. You see. Sometimes we say then Lord I'm yours. I don't care what you do. And then the Lord start working. And you say well Lord I wasn't kind of thinking of it that way. I mean. I was thinking you might take us this way. And you said turn left. And I thought I was sure you were going to say. I mean that's why I committed myself. Because I knew you knew what I wanted. And so I thought you'd just say okay you'll go and have it. And he said that's as anything you can't have. Go the other way. Oscar and I were considering this morning about. About. Amazing King of Israel David. And you remember that when he got exiled. He cried oh that one would give me a drink of water from the wells of Bethlehem. Our neighbor was saying the other day. You'll find the water's bad. He said sometimes we draw water it just stinks. I've heard lots of people say that. I've heard the men say you know when we were at home. We had a well at the bottom of the garden. Oh it was such pure water. I loved to drink that water. It was so fresh. Now we drink any old water. We don't know where it comes from. But how it tastes. And this exiled king was thirsty. And he said oh if I could just get a drink from the well at the gate of Bethlehem. And some three of his most devout men said come on we'll get it for the king. And they ran and they got it. And almost got killed doing it. And you know for me that day he said. I'll never forget the kindness when I get back in my kingdom. You'll be Chancellor of the Exchequer. And I'll see that you know you get a job as a foreign ambassador. And you can be something else. You know the promotion you get for political favors. What did you do with it? Well they risked their lives. All he said I'd like a drink of water. And they said if it's for the king you can have it. And they took it back maybe with trembling hands. And the king said thank you. Thank you. And he said this is marvelous. And they waited for him to drink it. And he poured it out on the floor. That's not the right thing to do is it? You gave him the right to do it. Once you put it into his hands you said king it's yours. I risked my life. There you are you do with it. And you think you're going to take it. You think you might say you see these three men. They're going to be three of my most important men. And they risked their lives. Look at all those enemies around there. And they fought their way through in the dark. And one was shouting out while the other dragged the water out of the pool. And I'm so excited to have it. I'm going to drink it now and go to a wine. And instead of that he poured it out on the floor. Why? He didn't say do you mind if I do this? You risked your lives. It was a strange thing for you to do. He didn't ask anything at all. The greatest challenge was not going and fighting. Fighting enemies and getting the water out of the well. The greatest thing was to keep your mouth shut when he poured it out. I'm going to pour it out this way. You pour it and I drink it. That's the only reason we went. I mean there's a stream there. We could have got water if we thought we wanted to plough over the garden. Why didn't you tell us? They didn't question. And you know God doesn't deal with us in the way we want him to obviously. And you know what? God won't answer all your questions. This book won't answer all your questions. The Bible isn't here to answer all our curiosity. It's here to build our faith. It says actually the secret things belong to God. There are some things he's never going to unveil to us. If he did you would need faith. That faith says Lord I'd rather walk in the dark with God than walk alone in the light. Alright? There are two ways. One is the broad way that leads us to destruction. The other is the narrow way. There are two systems. There's a system of ritualistic worship which they had and then they start and they say Wait a minute, wait a minute. You mean to say that you're worshipping with that gang of guys? But not one of them has ordination. There's not one of them wears a priestly robe. There's not one of them with any standing. Somebody once asked an English preacher I know if they thought God had a sense of humour. He said he must have. He'd never have made monkeys. Well I don't know whether that's the right answer but I sometimes think he has a sense of humour on higher levels. After all Peter, James, John, Fisherman, no degrees. And these uneducated men are going into the most sophisticated world in the world amongst the Greeks to upset them. He didn't say every time you draw your sword and point it at somebody fire will come out. He just said pow and they're gone. But he turns them loose on the greatest military machine in the world, the Roman Empire. He didn't say if anybody disagrees with you just say dry up and you'll be like cursing the freak tree who withers. And then he was turning them loose on the greatest religious system in the world. These are the men out of the upper room. Almost unnamed men, unlettered men, uneducated men, certainly unpopular men. And all that happened was that in that upper room they waited on God and God came and he purified their hearts by faith according to Acts 15. Now I say there are two ways. There's a narrow way that leads us to life. There's a broad way that still is. Make your choice. There's a ritualistic form of service that has a form of Godliness but it has no power. Not that necessarily if you throw it all over the world you get power. That's not as simple as that. Now let's say it this way. There is a system in the world. We know it. I'm always talking about that these days we're mesmerized by materialism. And I think we are very often in the church as well as out of it. That there's a busy world, a material world, a visible world, a political world. You can put all the other things in it if you like. An educated world, a criminal world, all the others. But that makes life. You see a big map of the world. You've got two hemispheres. Okay you've got one hemisphere which is the kingdom of darkness. You've got the other hemisphere which is the kingdom of light. You've made up your mind which one you're going to walk in. Now how are you going to reconcile them? Are you going to take the high lofty Christianity and adulterate it so it comes down to the level of worldliness? Or are you going to try and purge the rotten corrupt system and lift it to the height of Christianity? Can you reconcile the two? Well there's a sense in which you say no. East is east, west is west and never the twain shall meet. I don't believe there's any guarantee anywhere in the word of God that we're going to get it Christianized. Men have to hear the gospel. They're going to be given the opportunity to say yes or no to Christ. And this again brings an awesome responsibility on us. You know, we can all get our thinking blurred, it's not twisted. For instance if you talk about the present crisis, you get X-rayed up and here we are. What shall I do? I've got blood on my hands. Well there's only one way and that's in top ladies. And he says, Thou lie to that fountain. Thou wash me, Saviour, or I die. Salvation isn't just an upgrading. Salvation is, as I said last week, Jesus did not, N-O-T, capital letters 10 feet high. Jesus did not come into the world to make bad men good. He came into the world to make dead men live. And the conscience can die. There are people who have no conscience. They can do the most horrible, wicked, vile things. Conscience dies, but let them become alive in Jesus Christ. You see, again, no wonder people don't like the Bible, it doesn't flatter us, does it? I remember going down a place called Orange Grove. I happened to be speaking at a Keswick meeting in London. And after the afternoon meeting I walked down the street and coming back I saw a man in uniform with white gloves and standing very erect and walked past this building with my friend, walked back and there were gorgeous swing doors and huge chandeliers and beautiful things. I was looking in and he said, can I help you? I said, yes, I was wondering, oh I see this is a Ciro, Ciro, yes, yes, this is a Ciro nightclub. I said, oh, could I come to dinner tonight? Oh, no, no, you couldn't come in here at all. What if I buy a ticket? We don't sell tickets. Well, couldn't I come in? No, not unless you come with a guest or the Duke or somebody, Lord, somebody. But just the other night, and this was twenty odd years back, last night we had Queen, before the Queen got married actually, Princess Margaret was here last night and Queen Elizabeth, Princess Elizabeth was here. This is for very elite people. None of you thought I was, but anyhow, it's for very elite people. So I said, are you sure I couldn't come in? No, sir, no, no, no, you couldn't come in. It's just for the mobility and you have to be signed in and signed out, you need a sponsor. I said, I'd like to come in. I told you you can't come in. I said, I'd still like to come in. What would you do if I came in? I said, I would wait until we were all at dinner, you know, dripping with jewels that they'd borrowed or stolen or something, and beautiful minks and all the other things. And I said, when they were all at dinner, I'd turn my chair around and stand on it and say, she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth. He said, they'd throw you out. I said, well, I'd expect that. But at least I'd have had a shot at them. At least I'd have had a grand indication of saying to people who think they've got all that life has because, oh, look up there. Look at the Rolls Royces and the Ferraris and all the other super, super cars they have. They're waiting in the foyer here are the chauffeurs. And, well, yes, yes, we, because we don't keep open late now. We used to open till four. We close at two now. I said, I don't care when they close. Just let me get in so slightly. No, sir, you can't come in. They thought they were going to try and get in. But, oh, how false it is. And when you've lived that way and then you turn around and you come to one who says, I am the way, the truth and the life. Isn't it strange that people who are dead. Well, how can people who are dead recognize people who are alive? I go past the cemetery and nobody ever waves to me. Do they wave to you? Vance Abner says, why did they put railings round cemeteries? Folk outside don't want to get in. Those in can't get out. So what do you put railings round for? It's the same token. The dead people don't wave to us. We don't wave to them. Well, do you think the people in the world are going to admire us for our Christianity? Necessarily not so. We're idiots. We're fools. You see. And yet the little song we used to sing as kids, I found the pearl of greatest prize, My heart that sings for joy, And sing I must for Christ I have, Oh, what a Christ I've had. There comes a moment when, as Jarrett said, in the scripture, the man that carried goodly pearls, they were goodly pearls. Every time he went to a bazaar, he sold as much as he could and said, boy, that's the best one. And he had a bag full of goodly pearls. But there came a day, as Jarrett said, when he took all those pearls of comparative worth and he exchanged them for one pearl of superlative worth. This one pearl. I can give all I have for that one pearl. Well, give all you have. That's the only way out. Well, exactly the same, Jesus says, you may have some pearls. I have prepared to trade them for, you may have what you think is life. Will you trade it for eternal life? Jesus, through the eternal spirit, offered himself without spot to God. There was a contract made there in eternity. And then it was manifest here openly before the world. And then he passed on to eternity. He has prepared a place for us. He's made it possible. Again, does this ever strike a mind when you pray that you can say to God, Lord, I know you're hearing me as much as you heard Jonah when he was in the belly of hell. It's the bottom of the Mediterranean. Or do you think the Lord might have to take you to the bottom of the Mediterranean to make you realize it? Is he going to have to get us in a jam we've never been in in our lives to realize that we really do talk to the God who hangs the stars up in their sockets and he can blow the world out if he wants? That that same mighty, holy God in you whether you're Tom, Dick or Harry whether you're worth $100,000 or you're $10,000 in debt makes nuance to him. He's dealing here with something which is moral and something which is spiritual. Now Jesus comes and they say he makes a perfect offering for sin. He makes a perfect atonement. The Aaronic priest only had an office for a time. Then he has to pass on. Jesus Christ has made an eternal offering. The blood will dry up and the blood of Jesus Christ is as fresh today as it were in its value as it was the day that Jesus died and he rose again from the dead. The blood that came from the beast was given grudgingly. The blood of Jesus was given gladly triumphantly. He saw us in our need. He's the good shepherd and he saw us lame and helpless and he picked us up. Or if you want to use the figure again of the Samaritan. He found us with our wounds and he poured in oil and wine and so forth and so on. The blood of Jesus Christ the most perfect offering the world ever had. You know the offering that was made in the Old Testament when they brought a beast. He couldn't be lame. He couldn't say well we've had a rough year this year and a week on the floor. That's the best ram that we have. We do have one that's lame it's been limping either it got injured or an animal bit it or something a fox or a wolf or something we'll give. The priest wouldn't accept any if an animal was blinding one eye he wouldn't accept it. If it limped he wouldn't accept it. It must be a perfect offering. An unblemished offering. That carries right through to Jesus. He's a citizen of physical perfection. There's no beauty that we should desire in Isaiah 53 but he was morally and spiritually perfect. He was the most perfect he was the unblemished character think of it. And after 40 days and 40 nights and then 30 years of being pushed around and all the devilish things that meant it to him and yet he died at the cross as pure as the day he came out of his mother's womb. There was no impurity on him. There was no moral impurity there was no spiritual impurity. He was a perfect offering. The Lamb of God that was to take away the sin of the world. And that offering was made once once at the end of the age he appeared, John says he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. Purge your conscience from dead works. Now he doesn't take away our conscience. What he doesn't take away if we let him in the purification he'll take away that thing that always let you get irritated and upset and be foolish about things that shouldn't have upset you. He can take away that he won't take away the challenges that come to get upset and aggravating thing out and fill it with peace and love and joy and rest. That's what he actually comes to do. To come and abide in us by his Spirit the Holy Spirit. To purify us and then to keep us pure through his own work. If he abide in me and my words abide in you he shall ask what he will or I ask day by day for purity, for strength, for grace for guidance through the unknown path that's before every one of us every day we don't know the way that we take. And then how wonderful to know that there at the right hand of the Father if for some reason I do slip into sin if I slip into doubt or something at the right hand of the Father we have an advocate with the Father. You couldn't say that about the high priest because he went in once and then he went off the rest of the year you didn't know where he was but we know where Christ is he's taken a permanent abode in the presence of the Father and he ever liveth to make intercession for us. Preaching in England some years ago put a notice outside of his church they often used to put notices out lots of churches they put up during the week subject Sunday morning at 11 subject Sunday morning Sunday night at 6.30 usually meetings at 6.30 and he put a notice out Sunday morning his Sunday morning service was that his subject the unfinished priesthood of Christ by Wednesday morning he needed a shovel to get the letters from the back of his mailbox we have a slot in our doors you know and people were slipping notes through and letters through and all they were abusing him once in the end of the age he appeared to put away sin and he obtained an eternal priesthood for us there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins he didn't rebuke anybody he just stood up and read his scripture the unfinished ministry the unfinished priesthood or was it he ever liveth to make intercession for us for two thousand years Jesus had been making intercession for the throne of God he used to say in the old days I guess it's said here like England you know it's nice to have a friend in court well I've got a friend in court I've got one at the right hand of the Father and as the song says I found the way through the blood past the veil to the holy of holies with God there it is he's made an offering now there's somebody else's blood of his own blood a priest has been engaged he is the priest he is the offering he is the sacrifice he is the mediator he's all in all so another song says he is all I need he is all I need isn't that wonderful he's obtained an eternal priesthood he has an office notice that if you do wake up at two in the morning he's there you don't have to say oh my I wish the angels were on show and working I wish the Lord wasn't asleep it doesn't matter whether it's two in the morning or two in the afternoon or ten at nine or ten at morning there's no office hours I often thank God he has no office hours for I'd surely need something when the office was shut that would be like me I wouldn't be able to get in and say well I work six days and I rest on the seven no no no I just need that Jesus rested after he finished his work and there he is at the right hand of the father he's nothing else to do except this one thing live to make intercession that however imperfect my prayers are I present them through him through his blood by the spirit and they're made perfect in the presence of God because I'm so imperfect when I pray but they're perfected through him who is perfect the perfect one and through the blood of the everlasting covenant blood that's as valuable if the world lives a thousand more years as precious as it was the day he presented it when he was resurrected and went to the father a priesthood where the priest is never worthy and he never goes out of office an offering that can never be rejected it was accepted once you can't improve it you can't increase it you can't in any way add anything to it he made one perfect final complete eternal offering and all we have to do is to wake up to the riches that we have in Jesus Christ I need to do this more than any of us wake up to the fact we're not what we're going to be when we get inside the thirty gates forget it that's too late today realize my inheritance my riches in Jesus Christ because the good old book says all things are yours and ye are Christ's and Christ is God father we are grateful again this afternoon for this wonderful uttermost salvation we thank you that Jesus paid it all all to him are yours sin had left a crimson stain but he washed it white as snow not only you can wash the violence but you can keep us pure in this very impure world you can keep us straight in a crooked world you can give us light in this dark world and victory in the world where we're meeting head on difficulties day by day we thank you that we can have a super abundant life this afternoon is ascended above all principalities and powers and he's at thy right hand living to make intercession for us and in that confidence we go out again to face the world and all that it may bring keep us in the spirit keep us loving each other keep us loving thee supremely we give thee praise in Jesus name