Unblemished Lamb

Relevant Bible Verses:-

1) John 19:6 When the chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him, and crucify him: for I find no fault in him.

2) Exodus 12:5-6 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year:...and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.

3) John 18:10-11 Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus. Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it? (KJV)

We are indeed very privileged to be given the regenerated eternal life-giving Spirit through our Lord Jesus Christ. In order that we would have such surpassing redemptive life, Christ has to be processed and be crucified. That was the reason why Christ did not offer any resistance to His arrest (John 18:11).

In Exodus 12, the passover lamb was taken in on the tenth day of the month and was examined for four days to determine whether or not it had any blemish, before it was killed on the fourteenth day. In the same manner, the Lord Jesus as the real Passover Lamb was examined for four days and was found to be perfect, without fault before He was killed on the day of Passover.

The examination of Christ by mankind was the fulfillment of this prophesy. After Pilate examined Him, he declared, “I find no fault whatever in him”. There was no blemish in this Passover Lamb; He was fully qualified to be the lamb for God's people. After the Lord Jesus was examined, He, the perfect One, was sentenced in man's injustice. This necessary unjust sentence exposed the blindness of religion and the darkness of politics.

The Lord Jesus was crucified by God's people (Jews) on the Passover as the Passover Lamb. It was God's sovereignty that Lord Jesus would be lifted and be crucified. It was not an accidental death but the death was indeed predetermined by God that the prophesies regarding Christ's crucifixion might be fulfilled (Acts 2:23).

Praise the Lord! We have been covered by the blood of the Passover Lamb that was tested, examined and found to be perfectly unblemished!

Surpassing Redemption

Relevant Bible Verses:-

1) John 12:24 Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless the grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.

2) Romans 5:10 For if we, being enemies, were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more we will be saved in His life, having been reconciled,

3) John 19:34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear; and immediately there came out blood and water.

The article entitled "Blood Is Thicker Than Water" posted in Sept 08 dealt with the two aspects of the blood and water that flowed out from our Lord's pierced side. Firstly, it takes away our sins (redemptive aspect) and secondly, it imparts life (life-imparting aspect) into us.

I am now incline to expound on the life imparting aspect of the Lord's death for human race, because I find that the life imparting aspect is even more breathtaking than the redemptive aspect.

On the surface, it seems that redemptive aspect of the new covenant (see "New Covenant" posted 13 Nov 08) is excellent, marvelous and perfect that nothing can surpass it. But when I examine closer, I notice that the life-imparting aspect has in fact exceeded beyond redemption. Having been washed in the blood of the Lamb is just not enough and incomplete. Read on...

The day we accepted Christ as our personal saviour, we asked the Lord for the forgiveness of our sins, recognizing the power of the cleansing blood of Christ. Should we stop there, although we are washed, we will still be "dead" in our spirit. We are just been deadly cleansed. It is pointless to remain washed, we must also be living. We must proceed to live with our regenerated life.

If we are been redeemed without being reborn, our condition is still poor. God's purpose is that redemption be followed by the imparting of life. That is the reason why blood flowed out first from the pierced side of Christ followed by water. Redemption is to prepare the way for us to receive the divine regenerated life. The water must follow the blood. The blood is for redemption, forming a foundation in which we may be cleansed, and the water is for regeneration, forming a fountain of living water springing up into everlasting life (John 4:14).

Praise the Lord! We are being regenerated with the life-imparting Spirit of God.

His Yoke Is Easy

Relevant Bible Verses

1) Matt 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

2) Matt 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

3) Matt 11:30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

4) 1 Tim 2:1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;

4) 1 Tim 2:8 I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.

The last posting we discussed about the higher standard of praying in an unselfish manner whereby God's will should be the ultimate of our prayer following our good practice to intercede with God in the personal as well as in the corporate way.

When we come to pray we should always feel very much burdened at the beginning and then at the end we should feel that our burden is lightened. If it seems to make no difference, especially after sharing and pouring all our burdens to the Lord, then we know that our prayer is not up to standard as well.

When we pray, we are humbling before God, our prayer has to match the standard in which we are first drawn near to God. While we draw nearer, our natural intention enters into which becomes our burden, making us feel the need to go before God to pour out our heart's desire and discharge our burden. We recognize God's authority, His sovereignty and that He is almighty where we humble ourselves interceding with God.

Then, after we have prayed adequately, we immediately feel light within; that our burden having been discharged. If this condition does not exist, then our prayer is not quite proper. Christ said, "Come to me all those who are heavy burden and I will give you rest". This is the promise that we should find peace and rest when we come before God if our prayer is without wrath and doubt (1 Tim 2:8).

Wonder why some believers are still having hearts with heavy burden? It is because we do not carry it to God in prayer with sincerity.

"His yoke is easy and His burden is light".

Prayer or Shopping List?

Relevant Bible Verses:-

1) Matt 6:9-13 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:

2) Matt 6:13 For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

3) Daniel 9:19 O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name. (KJV)

The church I am attending scheduled the prayer meeting an hour before the main Sunday Morning Service. We would normally start off the prayer meeting with a simple song followed by a very short encouraging message.

Then the pastor will run down a list of prayer requests to be prayed for during this session before we break into smaller groups.

I noticed during this session, we would normally be praying and asking for God’s blessings, healing, personal needs, political situation, and lately we included the global financial crisis and Mumbai’s bombing on the list. The prayer requests are quite standard with a slight variation from week to week. It is like a shopping list – the list of items we currently need that we are bringing it up to God for answers or for God to provide. I am not against bringing our requests to God in prayer. In fact I believe it is a good practice to intercede with God in a personal way as well as in a corporate union, but I am sure there are more revelations and meanings than just praying in this manner.

After studying the above Bible verses, I am convinced that my prayer is not up to standard. It has always been praying for myself and/or for others. Contrary to this, the Lord has illustrated to me the unselfish way of praying. It has always been, “thine Kingdom”, “thine will”, “thine own sake”. It has always been for God!

Daniel prayed that God would hear and be gracious to him and the people, not for their sake, but for “thine own sake”!

The highest meaning of prayer is by which God may gain His authority and benefit. Apparently, we may be praying for many people, for many things, or for ourselves, but we must be able to go to the heart of the matter and say,

"O God, all these prayers are for Your sake. Whether or not our prayers are answered is of very little significance, but Your authority and benefit in these matters are of immense importance. Therefore, although we are praying for these people, events, and matters, actually our prayer is for Your sake, Lord."

I pray that the Lord will cover me with His blood and wisdom and allow me to start praying with the “thine Kingdom”, “thine will” and “thine own sake” attitude. Let us continue to trust God in an unselfish prayer manner that we would no longer be imploring God or beg for His pity, instead, we would be able to pray bravely, confidently and strongly, for we would not be praying for ourselves, but for God’s sake!

Have Thine Own Way Lord!