Don’t Waste The Blood

DON’T WASTE THE BLOOD

INTRODUCTION

A. HUMOR: Noah And Today's Ark

1. The Lord spoke to Noah and said, "Noah, in six years I’m going to make it rain until the whole world is covered with water, but, I want to save a few good people and two of every living thing on the planet. I am ordering you to build an ark."

2. And, in a flash of lightning, he delivered the specifications for the ark."OK," Noah said, trembling with fear and fumbling with the blueprints, "I'm your man."

3. "Six years later the sky began to darken and the Lord said, “Where’s the Ark?” "I did my best, but there were some big problems.”

4. “First, I had to get a building permit for the ark's construction, but your plans did not meet their code. So, I had to hire an engineer to redo the plans, including a fire-sprinkler system."

5. "My neighbors objected, claiming that I was violating zoning ordinances by building the ark in my front yard, so I had to get a variance from the city planning board."

6. "Then, I had a big problem getting enough wood for the ark, because there was a ban on cutting trees to save the spotted owl. I tried to convince the environmentalists and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that I needed the wood to save the owls, but they wouldn't let me catch them, so no owls."

7. "Next, I started gathering the animals but got sued by an animal rights group."

“Then the EPA notified me that I couldn't complete the ark without filing an environmental impact study on your proposed flood. "Then, the Corps of Engineers wanted a map of the proposed flood plan. I sent them a globe!"

8. "Right now, I'm still trying to resolve a complaint with the Equal Opportunities Commission over how many minorities I'm supposed to hire."

9. "The IRS has seized all my assets claiming that I am trying to leave the country, and I just got a notice from the state that I owe some kind of use tax.

10. Really, I don't think I can finish the ark in less than fifty years." With that, the sky cleared, the sun began to shine, and a rainbow-arched across the sky. Noah looked up and smiled.

11. "You mean you are not going to destroy the world?" he asked hopefully."No," said the Lord, "the government already has.”

B. WHEN BLOOD WAS WASTED

1. In 1996 it was reported that Israel secretly disposed of large quantities of blood donated by Ethiopian immigrants. This elicited accusations of ethnic discrimination and even racism. Much of Israel's Ethiopian population, about 50,000 today, was brought to the country in two dramatic airlifts. What brought their anger to a boil was the blood scandal.

2. However, the cause was not racism, but fear of contaminated blood. The Ethiopian community has a 50 times higher incidence of AIDS than other Israelis and so was regarded as a high-risk group.

3. Not wanting to stigmatize the Ethiopians by banning their donations, the blood bank officials decided to dump the blood. This added insult to injury. The situation was resolved through corrected procedure. (Ethiopian Controversy In Israel: It's Not Racism, by Harry Wall)

4. But dumping of blood takes place regularly. Some blood is contaminated, some wasn’t properly labeled, identified, or tested. Other times the blood is not kept at the correct temperature – iced down.

5. For whatever reason, the blood is dumped out. What a terrible waste! Someone donated the irreplaceable substance – the product of their bone marrow – only to have it dumped out! No wonder the Ethiopians got angry.

C. THESIS

1. First we’re going to see how we allow the Blood to be wasted, how it provides complete salvation, and how it is still effectual 2000 years later.

2. Title of message: “Don’t Waste the Blood.”

I. WHEN DO WE ALLOW THE BLOOD TO BE WASTED?

A. WHEN WE ALLOW CONDEMNATION

When we allow ourselves to be condemned by the enemy, or begin to believe that God wont forgive something we did, we are wasting the blood.

B. WHEN WE DOUBT GOD’S FORGIVENESS

1. When we begin to think that though God forgave us when we first got saved, if we sin since we’re Christians, God won’t forgive us…we are wasting the blood!

2. Some think on the Scripture; “If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God” Heb. 10:26-27.

3. What are we to make of this Scripture? Most scholars see in the words “deliberately keep on sinning” an act of apostasy, that is, to leave the Faith.