R1586 The Greatest Sacrifice Ever

Perhaps it's never happened. Someone actually sacrificed something you could get something else.

But in truth, it really has. Welcome to The Encouraging Word featuring the Bible-based preaching of Dr. Don Wilton. In just a few moments we'll be going to Hebrews chapter 4 as Dr. Don talks about the greatest sacrifice. Sometimes we don't understand our worth and our value.

God loves you so much that He's willing to sacrifice the most precious thing in all of the earth. We'll talk about it. We'll discuss that.

Maybe you already think you know the answer, and you probably do, but you'll discover more insight as we begin in Hebrews chapter 4 verse 16 in just a minute with Dr. Don Wilton. And while we're doing so, know that we're available for you. We'd love to connect online at www.tewonline.org. It's also the place you can sign up for the daily encouraging word email from Dr. Don.

That's www.tewonline.org. And now Dr. Don Wilton. I want to read to you from Hebrews chapter 4 and verse 14. This is what the Bible says. Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way just as we are, yet without sin.

Let us, therefore, approach the throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Five things about the greatest sacrifice ever. Number one, the greatest sacrifice ever is singular.

The word singular means one. How grateful I am for the countless thousands upon thousands upon thousands who paid the ultimate sacrifice for the freedoms that we enjoy today. But how much more can we be grateful that the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ loved us to the extent that he sent his only begotten Son. Singular, the Lord Jesus Christ, who came down to this earth and took upon himself my sin and your sin. And then he went to a cruel Roman cross where he died upon that cross, taking upon himself the sin of the world and was buried. And on the third day, by the power of God, he was raised from the dead so that you and I today, through the singular sacrifice of Jesus, the Son of God, you and I can have eternal life in Jesus Christ.

Would somebody say amen today? I want you to note something that the writer to the Hebrews has to tell us. He calls Jesus, Jesus, the Son of God. He uses both of Jesus' titles. You know, when I was in the military, we all had titles. We were corporals and majors and sergeant majors and we were everything you could possibly imagine and we understood our rank.

So does every single man and every woman who puts on the uniform of the United States of America. What God wants us to know about the singular sacrifice of Jesus was that when he went to the death upon the cross, that he took with himself everything that he is and was because this is the way God intended him to be. When he went to his death as Jesus, he took with himself the title of his humanity. Why his humanity?

Because Jesus, who is God, took upon himself our flesh, our human flesh, and he took upon himself our humanity so that when he went to the cross, he took upon himself the title of his humanity, having been tempted in all points, just as we are, yet without sin. And he took our humanity to the grave. But he not only took our humanity to the grave. Jesus was not just Jesus, the title of his humanity. He was Jesus, the son of God.

That was the title of his deity. God wanted us to know that this was God in Christ Jesus reconciling the world to himself so that when Jesus, this singular sacrifice went to the cross, he took with himself not only the sin of the world, but he took upon himself his very deity as God. This was God doing what only God could do on behalf of all of humanity, because it's only God who can set us free. And he did so through the singular sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is an amazing passage, just in case we miss it. This Jesus in his humanity, as the son of God in his deity, the Bible said, having paid the full price for our sin, passed through the heavens, because he now became our high priest, the one who is the intercessor between man and God.

You see, my friends, this is how it worked. Before Jesus came, the high priest once a year would make atonement for the sins of the people. And so the high priest would go to the temple, and he would pass through three phases in the temple. First of all, he would pass through the outer court. Then he would pass through the holy place. Then he would enter through the curtain through which no man could pass, but the high priest into the very holy of holies. And right there, having passed through the three spheres or levels of the temple court into the presence of God, there the high priest would make atonement for our sin. But the singular sacrifice of Jesus Christ who died in his humanity and who died as God because God was in Christ reconciling himself to the world, passed through all the spheres of God's domain and took hold of the very sovereign act of God who loves us so much and gave his life for us. This is Jesus, the greatest sacrifice ever, ever. The sacrifice is singular. It's not only singular, but it's binding. I love that statement that he says there in verse 14 on the basis of the fact that Jesus has gone through the heavens.

The curtain has been torn in two. There's now no need for a high priest because Jesus is our high priest. He's the one. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth and the life. My friend, are you looking in all different places to find peace and joy and forgiveness? You need to stop your search because we have found him, the Messiah.

His name is Jesus. And this one who paid the sacrifice, the Bible says, because of that singular sacrifice, what he did for us is binding. The Bible tells us we can now hold firmly to the faith that we profess.

I love that statement. We can hold firmly. That means that I can take hold of Jesus Christ and that he will never leave me and he will never forsake me. Do you know that when you give your heart to Jesus, he takes you in the palm of his hand and he will never let you go? It doesn't matter what you're going through. It doesn't matter what circumstances you find yourself in. It doesn't matter what pain you endure.

It doesn't matter what's going on in your life. You can hold firmly because it's binding because what Jesus Christ has done for us has been signed, sealed and delivered in the very heart of a God who loves us beyond reason. This great, greatest sacrifice ever is not any singular and binding, but it is sympathetic. I love this verse 15, for we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses. Did you know that this, the greatest sacrifice ever presents to you and me the Lord Jesus Christ, the son of the living God? And the Bible tells us that Jesus, because he took upon himself the sin of the world, even though he himself knew no sin, is able to sympathize with us.

Did you know that? Did you know that because Jesus sympathizes with you, it means that he is in one accord with your struggles. It means that he responds with you and to you. It means that Jesus Christ shares in your struggles. It means that Jesus Christ expresses everything necessary for you to overcome every circumstance of your life. He is in full sympathy with our weakness and with our sin. God knows about us because Jesus Christ took upon himself the sin of the world.

He became sin for us, even though he knew no sin. Please forgive the interruption, but Dr. Don wants me to remind you that as we are sharing these powerful messages from Dr. Don, his term is we want this to be a conversation, not just a presentation. He's been presenting the scripture and reminding us of that wonderful gift in Jesus, that even though he was sinless, he took on my sin and your sin so that he could offer us new life. At the end of the broadcast, Dr. Don's going to be talking about giving your life to Jesus Christ, but why wait? If the Lord has stirred your heart now, we have friends that would love to talk with you and pray with you right now at 866-899-WORD. That's 866-899-9673, and we would love to be a part of encouraging you in the next steps. Perhaps on this Friday edition of The Encouraging Word, all week long you've been listening to Dr. Don speak, and yet now you know there needs to be a change. Either way, maybe there are questions that although have been stirred because of Dr. Don's preaching, let us help discover the answer to those questions in God's word, the Bible itself, God's encouraging word. Again, our number is 866-899-9673, or you can meet us online as well at www.tewonline.org.

That's tewonline.org, also a place to discover a great deal about the latest resource from Dr. Don about the book of Daniel. Our nation is in crisis. The devil is working overtime. How do we counteract the evil all around us? How do we overcome? We must learn to be quiet, to be still and listen for the voice of God. We must listen and obey. With your gift of support to The Encouraging Word this month, you will receive Dr. Wilton's timely messages on the teachings of Daniel. Messages include hearing God's voice in the crowd, the power of obedience and the story of conviction. These messages on CD or DVD will be sent to you for a gift of $20 or more in support of The Encouraging Word. Call us at 866-899-WORD to request Dr. Wilton's teachings on Daniel, a man of courage, conviction and immovable faith. The Encouraging Word is a viewer and listener supported ministry. Thank you for listening today. Thank you, Liz. It's a powerful resource, the book of Daniel, but you'll find many resources on our website, www.tewonline.org.

And my personal favorite is absolutely free. It's the daily encouraging word email from Dr. Don Wilton. You can sign up for it again online at www.tewonline.org. It launches about 6 a.m. every day and is filled with insight from God's Word, from application of that scripture to our lives by Dr. Wilton. I believe it will definitely encourage you.

Sign up for it online today at www.tewonline.org. Now back to today's message with Dr. Don Wilton. Did you know that because Jesus sympathizes with you, it means that he is in one accord with your struggles? It means that he responds with you and to you. It means that Jesus Christ shares in your struggles. It means that Jesus Christ expresses everything necessary for you to overcome every circumstance of your life. He is in full sympathy with our weakness and with our sin. God knows about us because Jesus Christ took upon himself the sin of the world. He became sin for us. Even though he knew no sin, do you know that God sees you, knows you and understands you in your weakness today? I had someone say to me recently, Pastor, I can't stop going back.

I can't stop going back. Last week I had the privilege of preaching a message based on the prodigal son inviting people in the name of Jesus to come back home. One man from another state sent me an email and he said to me, he said, Pastor, when you ask people to stand, he said, I felt the whole time as I watched, listened to that worship service on television, you asked us to give our lives to Christ and I stood right there in front of my television set. He said, but I know when I stood that in my heart I don't know how I'm going to stop myself from going back. Jesus sympathizes. He knows. That's why he gives to us everything that's necessary by his Spirit to fortify us.

You know what the Bible says? Greater is he that's in me and he that's in the world. Don't do this alone, my friend. Jesus, the greatest sacrifice ever, singular, he's the only one, binding. He'll never leave you nor forsake you.

Sympathetic. He shares in your struggle, in our weaknesses. He understands us. That's why he loves us like he does. But this greatest sacrifice ever is approachable. Approachable. Look what the Bible says there.

I couldn't get over this. Verse 16, let us then approach the throne of God. Let us then approach. Did you know something? Do you know that God tells us that we can approach him? You know, I've had occasions from time to time to be around very important people. I have. I will tell you that there was a time some years ago that I even went into the Oval Office. Can you believe that? You know, you can walk into the Oval Office. It's an incredible place. And there's the President of the United States. Have you ever tried to approach important people? Michael and I tiptoe around the tulips sometimes.

We stutter and we stammer. When my kids were coming up, they loved basketball. So we would go every now and again, watch a game. I remember going to Charlotte one time to watch Michael Jordan. Oh, how badly my boys wanted me to go and get an autograph for Michael Jordan.

I failed miserably but didn't really try because I just couldn't bear the thought of him looking at me like that, especially for a man of my caliber. Just think about God. Just think about God. Almighty God. How great and how wonderful God. Because of the sacrifice of Jesus, the Bible says he paid the price. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence. Right now, you can come and approach him because he's approachable, which brings up that fifth thing about the greatest sacrifice. When you approach him, you'll find out the greatest sacrifice is complete. Complete. Jesus is complete. He's all you need. He's all I need. And because of his sacrifice, the Bible says so complete, we receive mercy and we find grace.

Just think about that. How about you today? I don't mind telling you, my whole life changed when I knelt down there alongside my wife and settled the issue of my relationship with Jesus. Up until that point, I kind of, I don't know if this comes across in the right way, it's like I was playing with God. I played when I came to church. Church had to suit me to go and I was a preacher's kid. I accommodated church. I accommodated Jesus. I could talk Jesus because I grew up in a very fine Christian home.

I could even sing most of the songs. But then I approached the throne of grace with boldness. You know what happened? I found Jesus. I found God to be so approachable because he's my Heavenly Father and I came before the throne of grace and all of a sudden I saw complete, whole. There I received mercy because I knew I was a sinner. I was separated from God and it was there that I found grace.

It's never changed. Would you bow your heads with me for a moment today? Just going to ask you just for a moment. If you just bow your heads with me. Are you perhaps like me looking?

Maybe today as we find ourselves worshipping the Lord Jesus like this, deep down in your heart you know. You're saying, yes, I know it's me. It's me, Lord. I'm the one. You know, maybe you're married to a wonderful person and maybe you've been blessed in so many ways but there's just that proverbial there's got to be more to life.

There's got to be more. Friend, God loves you so much. He really does. He gave to us the greatest sacrifice ever for God so loved the world but he gave Jesus the Son of God in all his humanity as God. He reconciled the world to himself.

You know, it's very profound but it's very simple. A, B, C, acknowledge your sin. Believe in God. Confess.

Another way of putting it is A, C, T, take action. Acknowledge your sin. Confess to Jesus.

Trust in him. Would you pray this prayer with me today and receive this Jesus, our high priest, the greatest sacrifice ever? I want you to know he'll complete your life because it's in him that you will find receive mercy and find grace.

Wow. Would you pray this prayer with me? Dear God, I know that you love me. I hear you.

I see you. I repented my sin today and I confess my sin to you. I trust you as my savior and receive you into my heart. Have you prayed that prayer? You say, wait a minute, pastor, is it as simple as that? Yep. You see through the complicated sacrifice of Jesus, the simplicity of our salvation was sealed forever. It's just as simple as that. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.

Wow. Jesus took care of all the complications so that we can just simply receive him in repentance and faith. And if you've prayed that prayer today, you've made a decision for Christ in your heart today.

Would you do something? Would you allow me to just pray for you before we go? I'd be so honored to pray over you. And if you've prayed that prayer to give your life to Christ today, maybe you have another decision that you've made as a believer. You know that. Maybe as a father, as a husband, as a wife, maybe as a teenager.

I don't know, but God knows, doesn't he? You've approached the throne of grace today. May I pray for you? Would you just stand right where you are? Just stand up. I'm asking you to do that.

If you've prayed, God bless you, my friend. Just stand, go ahead, stand up right where you are. Just go ahead and stand. Lord, there are people standing here today.

We're scattered because we're trying to keep ourselves the right distance, and we're sitting in family groups. And you see us, Lord. Lord, we can't get over just how wonderful you are to us. This amazing love, this is the greatest sacrifice ever. Thank you, Jesus. I pray a prayer right now, Lord, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit on every person who has made a decision for Christ today.

I pray, Lord, they would go to one of our blue top connect tents here and share their decision. I pray, Lord, people would go to the web and connect with us because we're a family together. We are a family. We're children of God. Lord, today as we honor those who have sacrificed for our nation, what we do today is we worship Jesus, the greatest sacrifice ever, for you are our life, and we worship you today with thanksgiving in our hearts. In Jesus' name, amen. I don't want to say, I don't know why I feel like this, but I stand here and I feel like crying, you know.

I don't know what this is. And to look upon your faces like this, I just love you. To be able to worship the Lord, thank you for being here. Thank you.

Amen. If you've given your life to Christ, in this moment of praying together with Dr. Don, I pray that you would let us step into the path with you, to walk alongside you in this process of growing in your relationship with Jesus Christ. Dr. Don has some wonderful resources prepared just for you if you've just given your life to Jesus or rededicated your life to Christ, and he wants you to have them, so call us and ask at 866-899-WORD.

That's 866-899-9673. We'd love to be a part of encouraging you in this process. As a matter of fact, Dr. Don would love to encourage you. If you'd like to let him know what's going on in your life, your story, if you want to email him, you can do that at Don, D-O-N, at T-E-W online dot O-R-G. That's right, Doc's first name, Don, D-O-N, at T-E-W online dot O-R-G. I can guarantee you he'll get that message, he'll be able to pray for you, and he'll make sure that we send you the resources that'll help you grow in your faith.

That you can be certain of. And again, not just about this moment today, but if you're interested in having someone be a prayer partner with you, we're here to do just that. We do believe in the power of prayer. Our time's just about gone, and before we get away, Doc's going to be back in just a minute with a closing thought, but I want to remind you about something that has become a vital resource for many of us in our discipline, our discipleship of Christ, and that's a jumpstart to our daily quiet time. Spending time in God's Word every day is mission critical to our strength and our health as followers of Jesus. And we have a wonderful email Dr. Don sends out every morning. You can sign up for it online at T-E-W online dot O-R-G. That's T-E-W online dot O-R-G. Sign up for the daily encouraging Word email, and I assure you, it will bless you, encourage you, challenge you, and no doubt help inspire you to live your best day for Jesus.

Before we get away, closing thoughts from Dr. Don. Okay, just before you go today, I just want you to know how much I love you. You mean so much to me, and I just want you to know that with all of the things that we've talked about and the way in which God is speaking to your heart right now, we are the encouraging Word, and we are available to you 24-7, morning, noon, night, or day. You can call a friend, one of my friends, right now, and they will encourage you, pray with you, listen to you. Isn't it great to have people around us who really care about us? You are not alone. God bless you and be encouraged.