Communion Message
(So great a price)
July 10-11, 1999
Pastor Leighton Sheley

Hebrews 10:5 and following read, Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: "Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, But a body You have prepared for Me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure. Then I said, 'Behold, I have come - In the volume of the book it is written of Me - To do Your will, O God.'" Previously saying, "Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them" (which are offered according to the law), then He said, "Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God," He takes away the first that He may establish the second. By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us: for after He had said before, "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them," then He adds, "Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more." Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin. Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our heats sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. Now the elements that we hold here were given to us at the Last Supper. It was at that time that Jesus and His disciples had gathered together to celebrate the Passover. The Passover had been celebrated for many centuries by the Jewish nation. It was when God miraculously saved them from a kingdom of slavery and death. Over those centuries, millions of people had come to Jerusalem to sacrifice their Passover lamb. Millions, and millions, and millions of lambs. You know, I've had the privileged of seeing that city of Jerusalem, and one of the things that impressed me so much about it is how small it really is. You can walk from one side of old Jerusalem to the other in about five minutes. The streets are so narrow it wouldn't be possible for two cars to pass side by side. I can hardly fathom millions and millions of people with their sacrifices filling those streets. That's probably why Jesus sent two of His disciples to prepare the Passover, because of the limitations of space in the streets and the temple. They went as a representation of Jesus and His disciples. Year after year, millions of sacrifices and yet, all of those sacrifices were like multiplying with a zero, because the sacrifices were inadequate and incapable of taking away sin. They were imperfect. They were not the reality, but they were what the Scriptures call a shadow, skia. What was the purpose of this shadow? Well in part it was to remind the participants of the cost of sin. Scriptures tell us the wages of sin is death, and so many of these sacrificial animals gave of their life in death. It's also in part to point us to the very form, that is the reality, that's found in Jesus Christ who was God's perfect lamb. Now what is this most holy place? It's a reference to the Holy of Holies in the temple. The place where the very presence of God resides. It was hidden and protected by a thick veil or curtain, and only one man, the high priest, only once a year was allowed to enter therein. Scripture here says the curtain, that is, His flesh. And that's a reference to the fact that when Jesus died, that is when life was torn from His flesh, the curtain in the Holy of Holies which separated men from the presence of God was also torn from top to bottom. It was, in fact, an invitation by God for us to come into His very presence. You know, before the fall, before man's choice to sin, man used to enjoy the very presence of God. The Scriptures tell us that man walked with God in the cool of the day. That ceased when man chose to sin. We were separated from God by our sin. It's because of the precious blood of Jesus that we can enter in to the most holy place, the presence of God once again. It's not by our own efforts. It's not by our own perceptions of righteousness. It's simply because of the blood of Jesus. The Scriptures tell us, they give us this invitation, let us draw near with a sincere heart. It is a heart that is genuine without superficiality or hypocrisy or ulterior motive.

I extend the invitation from Scripture. This day, if you're physically able, I invite you to kneel with me in the presence of the Lord. Thank you Lord. Lord as we hold these elements we're reminded of Your great love for us. You could have chosen to destroy us because of our sin. We are worthy of death. Instead You chose to restore us, to redeem us, to reclaim us. Thank you for Your great love for us that sent Jesus to the cross. So great a price has been paid. Thank you Lord that Your word says that if we confess our sin, You're faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We can leave this place today forgiven, cleansed because of this precious sacrifice. Thank you Lord. Let's partake of the bread and also the cup. Hallelujah. Let's say together hallelujah. Hallelujah. Say it again. Hallelujah. Say it again. Hallelujah. Lord we thank you and we say hallelujah. Thank you Lord, thank you Lord, in Jesus' name we pray, and together we say, amen. Let's stand. Let's greet at least, let's say fifteen neighbors, shall we?