A Perfect Sacrifice

Hebrews chapter 9, and we got up to verse 18 last week, so let's read from verse 16. Hebrews chapter 9, reading from 16 through chapter 10, verse 4. Hebrews chapter 9, verse 16. For where there is a testament, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is in force after men are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives. Therefore not even the first covenant was dedicated without blood. For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying, This is the blood of the covenant which God has commanded you. Then likewise he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry. And according to the law, almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission. Therefore it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us. Not that he should offer himself often as the high priest enters the most holy place every year with the blood of another. He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world, but now once at the end of the ages he has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many, to those who eagerly wait for him he will appear a second time, apart from sin for salvation. For the law having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered. For the worshipers once purified would have had no more conscience of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins. So in verse 15 you'll see that he speaks about the fact that we have a better inheritance, and then in verse 16 he changes the idea of a covenant to the word of a, to the idea of a testament or a will. And obviously it is the will that gives the inheritance. And then verse 17, that a testament or a will is enforced after men are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives. And so Jesus had to die in order for his will or his testament to become effective. And of course in that testament we gain eternal life. Now verse 18, therefore not even the first covenant was dedicated without blood. So now he's introducing a yet another idea. So he's spoken about the blood as being part of the of the testament or the will. Now he's talking about the covenant. Then he's going to talk about forgiveness. And all of these things are a mission which comes as a result of the blood. And so not even the first covenant was dedicated without blood. And now he's going to tell us, and we're going to move through this passage quite fast, I want to try and get to chapter 10 verse 4 this evening. And so he's going to tell us about when Moses received the law, and the law was written not just on tables of stone, but written down in a book, how that that covenant that God made with Israel at Sinai. Remember there were many covenants that God made with these people all along the way. There was the covenant that he made with Abraham. That covenant was also sealed with blood. But here he's specifically speaking about the covenant that was made at Mount Sinai with Israel. And remember that the essence of the covenant was that if you obey me I will bless you, if you disobey me I will curse you. And so not even the first covenant was dedicated without blood. For when Moses had spoken every precept, every law, to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats with water, scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself, the book of the covenant, or the book of the law, and all the people. I'm not going to comment on all of those things, but remember that when Jesus was crucified, water and blood came out. So it speaks about that. He mixed the blood with water. He used scarlet wool and hyssop in order to sprinkle the people. Hyssop is a little shrub, a little bush. And you remember that when they came out of Egypt on the Passover night, they were to take the blood of the lamb and they were to use the hyssop to paint the lintel and the two doorposts. And then obviously when Jesus was crucified, they took hyssop and dipped it in vinegar and put it up to him to drink. And so it reminds us of Egypt and God's deliverance out of Egypt, but pointing forward again to the cross. And again you can see how that even in what Moses is doing, there's a pointing back at the deliverance of Egypt, which is again a picture of the deliverance that would come at the cross, and then a pointing forward to the cross. And then saying this is the blood of the covenant which God has commanded you. So those are the words that Moses used. And obviously you must recognize those words, because those are the words that we hear every time we take the Lord's Supper, that we are reminded in Matthew chapter 26 verse 28, for this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. That idea of remission of sins, we're going to see that in Hebrews in a moment as well. And so when Moses then sprinkles the people and the law, he says this is the blood of the covenant which God has commanded you. But when Jesus, before the supper, he takes the, before the cross at the last supper, he takes the wine, or the juice, and he says this is my blood of the new covenant. So the covenant that God had made with Israel at Sinai was now being surpassed. It was being replaced. The covenants, remember that none of these covenants could ever be removed, because God had made a covenant. God had given his word, and God cannot lie. God's word stands. And so the covenant that he makes with, in the new covenant, is a better covenant than the old one. It does not do away with the old one, but it does more. So if you have someone who rents a house from you, and you say they have to pay $1,000 a month to rent the house, and you have a covenant, or an agreement, or a contract, they must pay $1,000 a month to be able to stay in the house. Now, if you, after, and you have a year lease, and so if after six months you come and you say, well, you know, I now want $2,000, that would be breaking the contract. If you say, look, I want you to be out, and, you know, then that also is breaking the contract. But if you come and you say, you can now stay for free. You have surpassed the old agreement. You've done better than the old agreement. And so even though, in a sense, it does away with the old agreement, it doesn't, because it doesn't break any of the conditions of the old agreement. It simply makes them better. And so that's exactly what Jesus did at the cross, is that he didn't do away, he didn't change the idea that there is no remission without the shedding of blood. We're going to see that in a few moments. So God, at the very beginning, said that the soul that sins, it must die. And without the shedding of blood, there is no remission. Now, God doesn't change that, and say, well, let's just forget about that. Let's just make it, let's just forgive everybody. No, he can't do that, because then he would be not, he would not be true to himself. He would break his own word and his own covenant. So in order to make it better, what he has to do then is, he gives his own son as that sacrifice. And so this is my blood of the new covenant which is shared for many. Then likewise, back in Hebrews 9.21, then likewise he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry. So remember that we now have two things going on here. The blood is sprinkled on the people, and the blood is sprinkled on the tabernacle, and the furniture of the tabernacle. And the tabernacle and its furniture is sanctified, is made holy as a result of the sprinkling. The people are made holy as a result of the sprinkling. And so remember that, because we're going to come back to those two things in a moment. So the people needed forgiveness of their sins. The sanctuary needed to be sanctified, needed to be cleansed and prepared for the Lord's service. And so he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry. Now before we get to verse 22, if we go to Exodus chapter 24, and we will see what he is talking about here. So Exodus chapter 24, and we'll just read from verse 3 through 8. Moses had gone up to be in the presence of God, and he had come down. And verse 3, so Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the judgments. And all the people answered with one voice and said, all the words which the Lord has said we will do. Moses wrote all the words of the Lord, and he rose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain at Sinai and 12 pillars according to the 12 tribes of Israel. Then he sent young men of the children of Israel who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the Lord. And Moses took half the blood and put it in basins, and half the blood he sprinkled on the altar. Then he took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, all that the Lord has said we will do and be obedient. And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, this is the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you according to all these words. So you can see that Hebrews is quoting exactly what happened in the book of Exodus. Now he's going to come back to this idea of the sprinkling of the tabernacle. Verse 22, according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission. So there are two things in that verse. The first is, according to the law almost all things are purified with blood. Why does he say almost all things? Obviously if he's saying almost all things, then some things are purified in some other way. All things have to be purified. What things can be purified without blood? Well, the law makes provision that if someone is very poor and they can't afford even a turtle dove to bring as a sacrifice to shed blood, then they can bring wheat or they can bring some other kind of produce, and that would be an acceptable sacrifice. But obviously only if they were so poor that they could not bring anything else, that they could not bring blood. So God's grace is even in the law in the Old Testament revealed, in that even those who may not be able to afford blood to deal with their sin would be able to bring something that would be acceptable to God. And maybe one can change this verse to say that according to the law nothing can be purified without sacrifice. So for a poor person to bring some wheat or barley, that would be a sacrifice. It would cost them food which they would normally have eaten. And then he says without shedding of blood there is no remission. This is a very, very important statement. There are some of these statements in Scripture that are absolutely foundational, and that can never be changed, and that flow from the Old Testament through to the New Testament. And here's one of those principles, and if there is any kind of theory or idea that contradicts this principle, then that theory is false. And so the truth is that without shedding of blood there is no remission. In other words, there are those who today say, well, what about the Gentiles? What about those who have never heard the gospel? How will they be saved? Well, maybe they can be saved because they were good pagans, or they were good Buddhists, or they were good in whatever faith they did. No, without the shedding of blood there is no remission. And obviously we understand from the whole teaching of the book, these chapters that we've been laboring through in these weeks, that the blood of bulls and goats is not good enough. We're going to see that again in a few moments. There's only one blood that is acceptable, and that is the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. So any idea that there is salvation outside of the blood of Jesus Christ is a false idea, is a false teaching and heresy. There is no remission of sins. The word remission, forgiveness. There is no forgiveness without the shedding of the blood, and obviously the blood of Jesus Christ, because that's the whole point he's making in these chapters, that the blood of bulls and goats could never remove sin. In verse 4 of chapter 10, which we'll get we'll come to in a few, for it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins. And so this verse must be qualified then by saying the blood of Jesus Christ, not just the blood of animals. All right, now verse 23, therefore it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. So here he uses the word copies. The old King James used the word figures. The Greek word is interesting because it is basically the word anti-type, anti-type. So you remember that there is a type and there is an anti-type. The one is a picture, the other is the reality. Now here he swapped these ideas around, and he says that the things that they have on earth is the anti-type. Now that's not strictly speaking true, simply that they are representations, they are types of that which is in heaven. Now we've spoken about this, I'm not going to go through this in much detail, but I do not believe that there is a tabernacle in heaven in the sense that there is a holy place and a holiest of all and an altar of sacrifice and a labor and all of these kinds of things. I know that's a popular teaching in many circles. Many people believe that based on this verse that that is what is in heaven. I just don't see that because heaven is his throne and the earth is his footstool. God does not dwell in temples made with hands. And so what we have in the earthly tabernacle is simply a picture of the very presence of God. How do you get into the presence of God? You have to come through the altar of sacrifice, the cross. You have to come through the washing of the water. You have to come through these things, through the veil, into the presence of God. But it simply speaks of the presence of God. And so when he then says, it is necessary that the copies of the things in heaven should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. So even if there are pieces of furniture in heaven, even if there is an altar and there's a labor and there's an altar of incense and a table of showbread, even if there are those things in heaven, would they need to be purified? No, because they would be in heaven. They would not be contaminated by the things of the earth. And so the idea then that those things need to be purified, I don't believe that that's what the author is speaking about. Now remember I said to you earlier, there are two things that are purified. The one is the sanctuary, the altar and the furniture, and the other is the people. And so what is it that needs to be sanctified in the true sanctuary? It is the people. It is us who come into God's presence. Remember the high priest comes in, and his main purpose in this whole picture that he's using here, the high priest's whole purpose is not to dedicate the sanctuary. His whole purpose is to make atonement for the people. And it's the people who need to be purified in order to come into the presence of God. And so when he speaks about the things, therefore it is necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these. But the heavenly things, I believe that he is speaking about us who are destined for heaven with better sacrifices than these, obviously speaking about the blood of Jesus. For Christ did not enter the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true. There's that word antitype again. Copies of the true. Remember this word true meaning the real, the reality. The true worshippers, Jesus says, will worship in spirit and in truth, in reality. And so the copies we have here, the true is in heaven. So Christ has not entered the holy place made with hands, which are copies of the true. In other words, Jesus did not enter into the type. We know that that's true. While he did visit the temple, he would visit the outer court, but he never went into the holy place even, because he was not a priest, and so he was not entitled to go into the holy place. And obviously he was not entitled at all to go into the holiest of all, and so he does not serve in an earthly tabernacle. But he serves in the true tabernacle, in the presence of God. Remember the word tabernacle, a dwelling place where God dwells. But into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us. Again, remember the picture. The high priest goes in once a year, and he makes atonement. He's already made atonement for himself outside, but now as he goes into the holiest of all with the blood he's making atonement for the people, and he comes out. And so here he's speaking about the same thing. Jesus, as the high priest, goes into the holiest of all once a year. Jesus goes into heaven itself, into the very sanctuary where God dwells, and he appears in the presence of God, and he does so for us. For us. In other words, to make atonement for us and to plead our cause. And so what a wonderful privilege we have, not having an earthly priest. And it's sad, because you remember the problem with these people that the letter is being written to, is that they're wanting to go back to the old things. They say, well, we really like to see the priest. We like to see the robes, and we like to hear the bells, and we like to see him go into the presence of God and come out. We're attracted to these things. And the writer is saying to them, what do you want to mess with this stuff, when in fact you have Jesus Christ, who's not entered into an earthly tabernacle, but has entered into the very presence of God? What do you want with a high priest who has to go year after year, when in fact you have the Lord Jesus Christ who goes into the presence of God once and for all? And so that's a wonderful blessing and privilege that is ours. And yet there are many Christians today, or not— maybe I shouldn't call them Christians, but there are many people today who want to go back to the Jewish stuff, but also others who are attracted to Catholicism and all sorts of other kinds of religions, where there's the smells and bells, and there's the noise and the sounds, and the visual attraction, and the smoke, and all of this stuff, because it's something that's relatable. And Jesus is saying, no, I want you to come into my very presence, into the real presence of God, not a fake presence, which is a picture of the real, but into the reality itself. And then verse 25, not that he should offer himself often, as the high priest enters the most holy place every year with blood of another. So again, he's emphasizing, you can see he's going over and over and over, emphasizing the same things, that he should not offer himself often. He offers himself once and for all. As the high priest enters the most holy place every year with the blood of another, Jesus enters once with his own blood. Verse 26, he then would have had to suffer often, since the foundation of the world. But now, once at the end of the ages, he has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. Now, what he is saying is that if the blood of Jesus is not efficacious, if the blood of Jesus is not effectual to deal with our sin once and for all, and if Jesus was serving in the Old Testament sense, then he would have to suffer often. How often? Well, as often as men sinned, thousands and thousands of times. And it's interesting that it's from the foundation of the other world. In other words, from the time that Adam began to sin the first time, when Adam sinned the first time, from then until eternity, Jesus would have to continue to suffer. Not just until the end of this world and until Jesus comes, but into eternity he would have to continue to suffer, because there is no final dealing with sin. So he would have to suffer often, since the foundation of the world. But now, once at the end of the ages. Now, that's interesting, because we know that that was 2,000 years ago, and yet we know that that's also the beginning of the last days. In other words, he's saying everything that has led up to this final act of the cross, everything in the Old Testament, 4,000 years in the Old Testament, all of that was pointing to one event, and that was the cross. And at the cross, that was the end. Now we're just waiting to see the fulfillment of the end, and he references that at the end of the verse, because once at the end of the ages he has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. Now, again, he's alluding to something here which, unless you were Jewish, you wouldn't fully understand. It says, once at the end of the ages he has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. Now, obviously, at one level it's meaning that he came from heaven, and he appeared, he was manifest in the flesh, we saw him. But I believe that he's also making reference to the resurrection. Remember that the high priest, the people would wait with anticipation for the high priest to come out, because if the sacrifice was not accepted by God, the high priest could die in the presence of God. And so tradition has it, it's not in the Bible, but tradition has it that later on they would put a rope on his leg so that they could pull him out if he died, because no one could go into the presence of God. And the whole of Israel would stand around waiting, and there's many records of this, would stand waiting for the high priest to appear. And when the high priest appeared there would be a sigh, an audible sigh going up from the congregation, knowing that their sins have now been atoned for, and God has accepted the sacrifice. How did they know? Because the high priest reappears. And so here he's making reference to that, and he's saying that Jesus appeared. When did he appear? I believe he's specifically referring to the resurrection, that when Jesus was raised from the dead, it was proof that God had accepted the sacrifice. And so not only does the resurrection promise us eternal life, but the resurrection is our guarantee that the sacrifice was acceptable. Obviously if Jesus had sinned on the cross, thought a wrong thought, got angry with them, or said a word that he shouldn't have said, he would then have had to die for his own sin, and God would not accept his sacrifice on our behalf. So how do we know that that didn't happen, that there wasn't something in thought, that he just thought a wrong thing at that moment? Well, we know that because God raised him from the dead, and so we have absolute assurance that the sacrifice was acceptable to the Father, and that we have been redeemed. So he appears to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. Now he takes it a step further. Sorry, next verse, but there's this verse in between, which we probably know off by heart, verse 27. And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. So now he's drawing a parallel, and remember the whole book is full of these parallels, comparing the high priest to Jesus, comparing the blood of the animals to the blood of Jesus. Now he's comparing the sacrifice of Jesus to death, and the same way he says as we die once, Jesus made one sacrifice forever. It is appointed for men to die once. We don't get to die over and over and over. Now I know the question is, what about those like Lazarus who were raised from the dead? They were exceptions. They are not the norm. They are not the normal situation. But for the normal human being, it is appointed for men to die once. We don't die many times, but we do die. That's one of the things that this verse is saying. It is appointed unto men, you can leave off the once to die. Death and taxes, Benjamin Franklin I think said, are those things that are unavoidable. And so death is something which is sure, but just as sure as death is the judgment. After this, the judgment. Now Jesus' blood deals with the judgment, but unfortunately there are many who will die and face judgment. Many who think that they're saved will face judgment, and many who know that they're not saved will face judgment. So Christ was offered once, same way as people die once, he is offered once to bear the sins of many. Now he's coming back to this idea of Jesus appearing. Now remember that the previous verse in verse 26, he has appeared. In other words, this is in the past. As we said, this is to me not just the Jesus coming in the flesh, but his resurrection. But now in verse 28, Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for him, he will appear. So verse 26 said he has appeared, now it says he will appear. And obviously this is speaking of his second coming. So he will appear. To those who eagerly wait for him, he will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation. Now let me deal with the end of the verse, and then I'm going to go back again. So he appears the second time apart from sin. So he's connecting his first coming with sin. In his first coming, he takes the sin of the world upon himself. He becomes sin for us as he hangs on the cross and as he takes the judgment and the wrath of God. When he comes the second time, he's not going to come in his humiliation. He's not going to come bearing the sins of the world. He's already done that. When he comes again the second time, he comes to save us. Now remember, this is not saving us. He saved us at the cross, but he's going to finally fulfill our salvation when he saves our bodies and gives us physical eternal life. And so we're waiting for that final fulfillment of our salvation. And so he's saying that our salvation began at his first appearing, and our salvation is completed at his second appearing. But I want you to pay attention to the middle of the verse. To those who eagerly wait for him, he will appear. Are there those who are not eagerly waiting for him? Yes, there are. And clearly what the verse is saying is, he's not appearing for those who are not waiting for him. Now that takes some thinking to get around. Why is he not coming for them? Because they're not all in for Jesus. They may have an appearance of salvation. They may have a form of godliness, but they love this world and the things of this world. And so he's not coming for them. It is for those who have one hope in this life, and that is in Jesus Christ, who have one ambition, and that is to see him face-to-face, who have one goal, and that is to be part of the first resurrection. And so to those who eagerly wait for him, he will appear a second time. I believe that this speaks about the rapture, and obviously different people have different views on the timing of the rapture. But when Jesus comes in the rapture, when he takes the church to be with him, many are not going to be aware that he has come, because he has not come for the world. He's not coming in the full sense of the second coming when he comes to judge the world. He is simply coming to take his own people. And so those who are waiting, those who are longing, will hear the sound of the trumpet. The others will be too busy doing whatever they're doing, living their lives, enjoying life, going about their business, marrying, giving in marriage. Remember, the book of Matthew speaks about that. And so he is not coming for them. He's coming for those who are waiting for him, and he will appear a second time, apart from sinful salvation. Now, verse 1 of chapter 10, I want to get into chapter 10, because many of these ideas are repeated, and I'd like for us to move on. So the law, then, having a shadow of good things to come. So now, remember, he's spoken about the covenant, which is a shadow, or a picture, or a type of the new covenant. He's spoken about the sanctuary, or the tabernacle, which is a picture, or a type, or a shadow of heaven itself. Now he's saying the law is also a shadow, or a type, or a picture. So the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never, with these same sacrifices which they offer continually, year by year, make those who approach perfect. So if the law is the shadow of the good things to come, what are the good things to come? The good things to come is salvation through the blood of Jesus Christ. No law saying, well, you have to do this, and do that, and do that, and do that, in order to not fall foul of God's judgment. No, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved. That is the good things. So the law is a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things. So it's a bad copy of the gospel. It can never, with these same sacrifices which they offer continually, year by year, same idea over and over, make those who approach perfect. So the law could not make perfect. Again, remember, he's writing to people who want to go back to the law, and he says, you're wasting your time. The law cannot make you perfect. Only Christ can make you perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered. It's just a plain, simple argument. The argument is that if those sacrifices in the Old Testament could make you perfect, well then, a time would come that you would say, we don't need to make sacrifices anymore, because everybody's made perfect. But because they couldn't make them perfect, they have to continue to be made. For then would they not have ceased to be offered. For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more conscience of sins. In other words, once you've come, made the sacrifice, your sins are washed away, everything's good, you don't need to come back again. And obviously he's saying that didn't work in the Old Testament, because the blood of bulls and goats could not take away sin. Verse 3, but in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. So every year the sacrifice spoke about forgiveness, but the sacrifice also reminded you of sin. The wonderful thing about the blood of Jesus is that it only speaks of forgiveness. It doesn't speak about sin, because once the blood of Jesus has been applied, there is no more sin. There is no more issue. It's been dealt with once and for all. And so those sacrifices, in those sacrifices, there's a reminder of sins. When we come to the table to remember the Lord Jesus' death, we're not reminded of our sins. We're reminded of our salvation. Whereas when they came, they were reminded of their sins, that it was temporary covered, that they would have to come back next year, because their sins would constantly be before the Lord. Verse 4, for it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins. Here's the bottom line. All of what they were doing was ineffectual, could not deal with sins. Only the blood of Jesus could deal with sins. Now he's going to then go on, and we'll move on to verse 5 next week. But we have the therefore now. Therefore, when he came into the world, he said, sacrifice an offering you did not desire. And so, praise God for the sacrifice that is a perfect sacrifice. There is nothing perfect in this world. Many people chase perfection. Many people are perfectionists in trying to find some kind of perfection in the things that they do in their lives. But there is nothing in this world that is perfect, and there is nothing that can make perfect but the blood of Jesus. And the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus is a perfect sacrifice. There is nothing, there's no fault to be found in it. There is no sin that it cannot deal with. There is no fall from grace that it cannot cover. The blood of Jesus Christ can deal with every and with all sin. Father, we thank you for your word. But above all, thank you for Jesus and for the blood of the new covenant that has brought us into this new relationship. And Lord, I pray that you would help us to just fully appreciate what is ours in the Lord Jesus. Lord, that we may not keep looking back like Israel wanting to go back to Egypt, and like these Hebrew believers that the letter is written to wanting to go back to Judaism. Lord, that there be no desire for us to go back to whatever it is we've come out of. Because Lord, we understand that none of those things are able to make us perfect. But we thank you for the perfect sacrifice that is able to make us perfect, and is able to present us faultless before your presence on that great day. And so Lord, I pray that you'd help us to get our minds around these things, because they reveal to us the glory and the greatness of your grace, and of the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus. Lord, we get so tired of hearing the same things over and over, and yet Lord, we need to be reminded, and we need to be refreshed about how great and how glorious is our salvation. Thank you Lord for saving us. Thank you for Jesus who came, and thank you that he is coming again, and that he's coming to complete the work that he has begun in us, and that on that day we will stand before you faultless and completely perfected. We thank you for these realities. Go with us we pray. Keep and protect us as we go into the rest of this week. We ask this in Jesus' name.