"I'm Grounded" Pastor Albert Almore
SIN—It all started in The Garden of Eden.
REDEMPTION—It all began to come to an end in the Garden of Gethsemane.
"Now an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him.“
Luke 22:43 AMP
"And being in agony [deeply distressed and anguished; almost to the point of death], He prayed more intently; and His sweat became like DROPS OF BLOOD, FALLING DOWN ON THE GROUND.“
Luke 22:44 AMP
DROPS OF BLOOD, FALLING DOWN ON THE GROUND…
I want to share in a message this Good Friday titled…
I’M GROUNDED
Matthew didn’t talk about it. Mark didn’t make mention of it, but Luke being the physician that he was couldn’t resist discussing it. The correct medical term for it is…
HEMATOHIDROSIS. Hematohidrosis is a rare, but very real, medical condition THAT CAUSE’S ONE’S SWEAT TO CONTAIN BLOOD. THE CAUSE OF HEMATOHIDROSIS IS EXTREME ANGUISH.
Matthew & Mark let us know that Jesus was by far in extreme anguish. Matthew 26:36…
"Then Jesus came with them to a place called GETHSEMANE, and said to the disciples, "Sit here while I go and pray over there.”“
Matthew 26:36 NKJV
"And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then He said to them, "MY SOUL IS EXCEEDINGLY SORROWFUL, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.”“
Matthew 26:37-38 NKJV
"And He took Peter, James, and John with Him, and He began to be TROUBLED and DEEPLY DISTRESSED. Then He said to them, "My soul is EXCEEDINGLY SORROWFUL, even to death. Stay here and watch.”“
Mark 14:33-34 NKJV
Jesus was so troubled, so deeply distressed, in such agony that Jesus’s sweat became drops of blood hitting the ground.
THE LAMB OF GOD WAS ALREADY BLEEDING.
What started in the Garden of Eden, was coming to an end in the Garden of Gethsemane, because THE LAMB OF GOD WAS ALREADY BLEEDING.
WHAT DOES JESUS’S BLOOD HAVE TO DO WITH SAVING US?
ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING.
From the very beginning, our Holy God’s way, in order for a sacrifice to be deemed as acceptable unto Him, on behalf of sins, blood had to be shed.
After Adam and Eve sinned in Genesis 3, Genesis 3:21 says,
"And the Lord God made CLOTHING FROM ANIMAL SKINS for Adam and his wife.”
Genesis 3:21 NLT
HOW COULD GOD HAVE CLOTHED ADAM AND EVE WITH ANIMAL SKINS UNLESS AN ANIMAL WAS KILLED?
AND IF AN ANIMAL WAS KILLED, THAT MEANS THAT BLOOD WAS SHED.
"And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, but HE DID NOT RESPECT CAIN AND HIS OFFERING. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.“
Genesis 4:3-5 NKJV
Many believe that God didn’t respect Cains offering because of the way it was given, not from the heart. But even deeper than that, NO BLOOD WAS SHED. Hebrews 9:22 is clear…
📝 In fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. FOR WITHOUT THE SHEDDING OF BLOOD, THERE IS NO FORGIVENESS.
Hebrews 9:22 NLT
The blood from animals offered up to God, has always been a sign of forgiveness. The blood from animals offered up to God, has always been a sign of grace dating all the way back to the first Passover. When God got ready to deliver His people from the hand of Pharaoh, He told them in Exodus 12:12 how to distinguish their house, from the enemy’s house. Exodus 12:12…
"For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD.”
Exodus 12:12 NKJV
📝 "Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. AND WHEN I SEE THE BLOOD, I WILL PASS OVER YOU; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.”
Exodus 12:13 NKJV
What type of blood shall we use? The blood of bulls? The blood of goats? Exodus 12:3…
"Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: ‘On the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself A LAMB, according to the house of his father, A LAMB for a household.” Exodus 12:3 NKJV
Any particular details for this lamb???
"YOUR LAMB SHALL BE WITHOUT BLEMISH, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats.”
Exodus 12:5 NKJV
Your lamb shall be without blemish. In other words, your lamb shall be without evil. Your lamb shall be without sin. You see, when God told the children of Israel to take a lamb, without spot, without blemish and to kill it, and take its blood and to cover the house with it, THIS WAS A FORESHADOW OF THE WORK OF JESUS CHRIST!
This is why in John 1:29, John the Baptist calls Jesus,
"...THE LAMB OF GOD who takes away the sin of the world!”
John 1:29 NKJV
What happened in the Cain & Abel story???
"Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”” Genesis 4:9 NKJV
📝 "And He said, “What have you done? THE VOICE OF YOUR BROTHER’S BLOOD CRIES OUT TO ME FROM THE GROUND.”
Genesis 4:10 NKJV
THE VOICE OF YOUR BROTHER’S BLOOD CRIES OUT TO ME FROM THE GROUND...
God tells us in this passage of scripture that blood has a voice! Abel was dead but his blood was still speaking. Abel was no longer here but his blood was still crying out! I have a question for you this Good Friday…
If the blood of Abel spoke that loudly, if the blood of Abel cried out that loud from the ground, then HOW MUCH MORE WILL THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST CRY OUT ON YOUR BEHALF?! This is why WE THANK GOD FOR THE CROSS! Colossians 2:13-14…
"You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to THE CROSS.“
Colossians 2:13-14 NLT
This is why WE THANK GOD FOR THE BLOOD! Ephesians 2:13…
"But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away HAVE BEEN BROUGHT NEAR BY THE BLOOD OF CHRIST.”
Ephesians 2:13 NIV
When we were dead in our sins, the blood of Jesus Christ spoke up for us! When we were dead in our trespasses, the blood of Jesus Christ pleaded our case. When we were dead in our inquities, separated from the father, the blood of Jesus Christ drew us near. The blood didn’t stop speaking with Able. The blood didn’t stop speaking after the first Passover. I stand before you today to declare that the blood still speaks! Job 12:7-8 says…
"But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or SPEAK TO THE EARTH, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you…”
Job 12:7-8 NIV
I’m going to take Job up on this. I want to interview the earth. I want to interview the ground, and know what was it like absorbing Jesus’s blood. It started in the Garden of Gethsemane with the drops of blood. It intensified at the whipping post with the pool of blood. It climaxed at the cross when they put the 7 inch nails in his wrist and in his feet.
Job told us to speak to the earth! If I could speak to the earth today, and interview the ground, and ask what was it like soaking up, Jesus’s blood, I believe that ground would say,
"I’ve soaked up many of bloods from murders, from wars, from battles. I’ve had my fair share of absorbing blood back into me, but I’ve never encountered anything like this blood. This blood was different. This blood was holy. This blood this blood was deity. When this blood touched me, I didn’t affect it, instead it affected me. In that moment, I was no longer just any ol ground. In that moment I transformed into holy ground. I didn’t get on it. It got on me!”
"WITH HIS OWN BLOOD—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever.“
Hebrews 9:12 NLT
"For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh,“
Hebrews 9:13 NKJV
📝 "HOW MUCH MORE SHALL THE BLOOD OF CHRIST, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself WITHOUT SPOT TO GOD, CLEANSE YOUR CONSCIENCE FROM DEAD WORKS TO SERVE THE LIVING GOD?“
Hebrews 9:14 NKJV
Because of His SHED BLOOD, I can SHED my FEARS. Because of His SHED BLOOD, I can SHED my guilt. Because of His SHED BLOOD, I can SHED my excuses of why not me.
From this day forward, "I’m GROUNDED!”
📝 Because of Jesus’s blood, I’m grounded in LOVE. Because of Jesus’s blood, I’m grounded in FORGIVENESS. Because of Jesus’s blood, I’m grounded in VALUE. Because of Jesus’s blood, I’m grounded in IDENTITY. Because of Jesus’s blood, I’m grounded in STRENGTH. Because of Jesus’s blood, I’m grounded in PURPOSE. Because of Jesus’s blood, I’m grounded in Heavenly ETERNITY. Come what may, the storms of life may blow, but when they do, THEY’LL FIND ME GROUNDED!
📝 I’m not grounded in anything that I CAN DO. I’m grounded in all that CHRIST HAS DONE.
In Genesis 2:7, we came from the ground. Jesus’s blood went back to the ground to the beginning, where it all started.
Tucked away in the gospel of Matthew, is a defining moment for us, for our children, and our children’s children. The Bible says in Matthew 27:24,
So Pilate, seeing that nothing was being gained, but rather that a disturbance was starting, took water and he washed his hands before the crowd, saying, "I am innocent of the blood of this righteous man. You see to it."
Matthew 27:24
📝 All the people answered, "MAY HIS BLOOD BE ON US, AND ON OUR CHILDREN.”
Matthew 27:25
Little did they know, but the people were right. Their plea has turned into my prayer. Jesus, may your blood be upon us. Jesus may your blood be upon our children. The blood that saves. The blood that heals. The blood that delivers.
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