The Lamb of God

Dear Weekly Readers!  May God grant you a most Blessed Holy Week!

At this time of year we commemorate all that has been accomplished for us by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!  We must realize however, that the focus that we have during this week is really how we should live each day, and even more than that, it IS WHO WE ARE as Christians!  

 It is because of the events of this week, that allows sinful man to be reconciled with a Holy God.  

Live in this knowledge and in the power of the Living Lord Jesus!  

Our Message this week is by Pastor Elmer Yliniemi:

The Lamb of God

Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.

1 Peter 1:18-21

AS PEOPLE, WE VIEW THINGS in time with human understanding. It is impossible for us to see from an eternal perspective because we are created beings. It is difficult for us to grasp the greatness of God. We often go on with our daily lives making our own decisions and plans as if there were no God. Yet, by His Word, He called all things seen and unseen into existence and set the universe in motion. As we meditate on the events surrounding Easter, may we see God’s eternal plan.

When Adam and Eve fell in the Garden of Eden, their sin brought death to all mankind. There is no putting away of sin without a sacrifice!

God promised a Savior, the Lamb of God, from eternity past. The message from Genesis to Revelation is Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. (John 1:29) A blood sacrifice for sin was required from the beginning. The role of Christ as Lamb of God was not God’s “Plan B” or an afterthought, but it was His plan from the beginning. Jesus is God’s Lamb, slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8). Peter tells us He was foreordained from the foundation of the world (1 Peter 1: 20).

The sacrifice for Adam and Eve’s sin foretold the death of the Lamb when God made them coats of skin to hide their nakedness. Abel’s blood sacrifice was pleasing to the Lord. God’s covenant with Abraham involved the death of a lamb. The Passover required the death of a lamb, and the blood was necessary on the doorposts for the LORD to pass by. Throughout the Old Testament, the sacrificial system pointed to the death of the Lamb.

Hundreds of years before Christ, Isaiah the Prophet said, He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. (Isaiah 53:7) What God promises, He fulfills.

JESUS WAS ALREADY PRESENTED AS A LAMB at His birth. Where would a lamb be born? In a stable, and the shepherds were the first to know.

John the Baptist was called by God to introduce Him to the people: “Behold the Lamb of God...”

Jesus was silent at His trial and surrendered Himself to the cross as a lamb led to slaughter. He was not a tragic victim of the cross; He willingly laid down His life. He says, Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. (John 10:17-18)

The Passover Lamb had to be examined and found without spot or blemish (Exodus 12). Jesus the sinless Son of God was a Lamb without spot or blemish; therefore He could be our sacrifice and bear our sins. He died for all mankind. Jesus atoned for our sins by shedding His blood. His triumphant resurrection overcame death and crushed the power of Satan. Because Jesus arose, we too can live! Jesus conquered the finality and dread of death. Jesus was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification. (Romans 4:25)

God’s plan was perfect. It was initiated by God and completed by God. It is for all mankind, but all are not saved. Why? Because we must be united to God through repentance and believe that our sins are forgiven through the precious blood of Jesus. When the blood covers the doorposts of our heart, the LORD will pass over us and we can live with Him forever (Revelation 3:21).

Belief in the resurrection is an essential prerequisite for salvation. If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (Romans 10:9)

There was no power on earth that could keep the Son of God in death and the grave. It was not necessary for the angel to roll away the stone on Easter morning so the Son of God could get out! It was so the women and you and I could see the empty tomb, so that we would believe. 

Jesus had already risen. Locked doors and stone walls could not hold the resurrected Lord. The stones of unbelief in our lives have to be rolled away by the power of God so we can recognize the Him and say as Thomas did: “My Lord and my God!”

The amazing fact is that the Lord loved each of us so much that He left the glory of heaven to come to earth in a human body so that we could know God. He willingly sacrificed Himself for us so we could be united with a righteous God through the forgiveness of our sins in His blood. This is truly good news!

When the Holy Spirit has revealed to us the living Lord, we are to go quickly and tell others the good news. “Behold the Lamb of God” means a steady looking or focus. Let us keep our eyes looking to Jesus. Because Jesus lives, we too can live! May you have a blessed Easter. 

Our Legacy!

Dear Weekly Readers,  God’s Peace!

Psalm 46:10  Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

As we move closer and closer to the time of Holy Week, let us pause and listen to this verse so we can understand what truly took place for each one of us!   Believers have a precious legacy because of what He has done!  

Please enjoy a short devotion by Pastor Orval! 

May God Bless your week!  John R.

Dear friend,

Grace, Mercy and Peace from God our Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ be with you all now and forever, Amen. 

We often hear of how people want to leave a legacy behind that will mark their life, which in essence would be that which they wanted to be known for as having the greatest effect upon the world that they lived in. It makes very good sense to say that the legacy of a world leader would be much more impactful than the legacy of common folk like us since many more people are affected by the decisions of a world leader than by the life we live in our particular calling/vocation in life.

What is meant by legacy? It is defined as something handed down or left with the succeeding generation, whether it is material or moral. 

As we continue towards Jerusalem with Jesus on His way to glorify His Father, perhaps we could use the word legacy to help us understand a bit more of the joy of purpose in the heart of the Father and His Son as they approached the day of their collective Glory: To reconnect the world with Themselves through the death of Jesus the Christ on the cross. This was to be the highest point/defining point/climactic point in the history of the world. It seems like we could say, it was the legacy that They wanted to leave behind for all to benefit from, for no one would be left outside of the redeeming work our Father and His Son. They want all to become partakers of Their legacy, for the inclusion of all is the greatest desire and joy of Their heart: To provide the riches of grace in giving the forgiveness of sins through Christ becoming sin for the world, One who was sinless but yet took upon Himself the entire sin debt of the world on our behalf.

Now that is a legacy, for through it we have peace and joy today and we have an expectant hope of that which is to come in heaven above!!!!!! 

May we grow in our knowledge of this inheritance that is given to us through the legacy of God our Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! For God is glorified when we become a partaker of His legacy: The forgiveness of sins in Christ Jesus!

Pastor Orval Wirkkala

Our Sin Debt

Dear Weekly Readers!  How often we need to be reminded of the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world!   Please read the below article by a Sister in Christ, Lois Matson from the state of Washington, USA. May God Bless your week!  John R.   AREAL TIME DISPLAY ON Sixth Avenue in New York City chronicles the total US debt, and the digital numbers flash past so quickly you can’t read them. Debt spins out of control, with each citizen owing tens of thousands in personal obligation and the national debt topping 18 trillion dollars. That’s trillion with a tr. We saddle our children to the third and fourth generation with the bill, yet spending continues without restraint.   What about our sin debt clock? Is it spinning out of control as well?  In the Lord’s Prayer, we pray that our Father would forgive us our debts. (Matthew 6:12) Martin Luther’s Catechism explains: “We pray in this petition that our Father in heaven would not look upon our sins, nor on their account deny our prayer; for we are not worthy of any- thing we ask, neither have we deserved them; but we pray that He would grant them all to us by grace, for we sin much every day and deserve nothing but punishment.”  The Apostle Paul wrote: There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one... There is no fear of God before their eyes. (Romans 3:10-12; 18) God requires absolute holy perfection, with never a stumble, never a slip. If we’re honest with ourselves, the commandments condemn us, because none of us keep them. Indeed, none of us are capable of keeping them, even if we want to.  Sometimes it seems our sin debt clocks are spinning so fast, they’re nearly burning up. What do we do with this overwhelming debt, which is greater than we can ever repay? The penalty for sin is death. No exceptions. Romans 6:23 says: For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.  The gift of God, the grace of God—there is our hope!  Pointing to Jesus, John the Baptist said, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”  Praise Jesus that He has taken our debt of sin and nailed it to His cross. He has broken the wildly spinning debt tabulator which was held to our account. He has silenced the accuser. He has fulfilled the righteous demands of the Law. The Apostle John wrote: And ye know that he (the Son of God) was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. (1 John 3:5-9)  The Apostle tells us not only that whoever abides in Christ does not sin, he says that they cannot sin. The new creation—born of God’s Word and Spirit—does not sin. The motions of sin that we feel in our members, that we experience every day, that we see mounting on our wildly spinning sin debt clocks, are not held to our account. They were nailed to the cross of the innocent Lamb of God outside the city walls of Jerusalem, and the wrath of God was appeased.  Your sin debt is PAID. God is satisfied with the blood sacrifice of His perfect Son. Our Father is not angry with you. He doesn’t hold your sin against you. Believe it. Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. (Romans 5:1-9)  Live in the peace that Jesus Christ has purchased, praising Him for paying your enormous debt of sin. Stand in grace and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God! ~