Matt Hagee - Permanently Stained
If you would please stand for the reading of God's word. And if you brought your Bibles, turn them to Romans 8, beginning at the 31st verse, as this morning we discuss the topic of being "Permanently stained". We're given this admonition in the Bible to rejoice in the joy of our salvation. That means that we are to consider what God has done and allow it to bring into our heart and into our life an absolute eruption of joy. We also read in the Bible in the book of Exodus, God's statement to the children of Israel at mount Sinai when he said: remember the sabbath and keep it holy. This was his way of saying, set aside a day in which you consider who I am, the works of my hands, and how they have blessed and benefited your life. I believe that these two commandments are the central theme that should be found in each and every service that we attend in this sanctuary: that we're not only here to remember who God is and what he's done, but we're to remember what he has done in our lives, and rejoice in the joy of our salvation.
You may have had a hard week this week. You may have heard news you didn't want to hear this week. You may have felt feelings you didn't feel like feeling this week. But that doesn't change the fact God is still on his throne, and you are still the redeemed of the Lord, and you still have the authority of Jesus' name to rejoice, and then again, I say, rejoice. Today I rejoice, because when I was desperate for joy, in the fullness of his grace, he surrounded me with his presence. And in the Bible, we read: in his presence is the fullness of joy. I rejoice because when I needed strength and I felt powerless, Almighty God held me in the palm of his hand. The same hand that flung the stars against the velvet of the night, the same hand that fashioned the mountains in the hills, the same hand that put the dust of Eden together and breathed life into Adam, that hand is the hand that holds me when I need strength.
I'm thankful for that today. I thank God that when I needed comfort and I was broken, he was a friend that sticks. Closer than a brother. I thank him that when I was lost and I needed direction, he sent his word and his word was a lamp unto my feet and it was a light unto my path, and it helped me navigate the difficult direction that was ahead. I thank him that when I was lost and looking for hope, he became the God of all hope. I thank him that when I was in need of provision, he became El Shaddai, who is called "The all-sufficient one". And my God was not just enough, but he has always been and shall always be so much more than enough.
I thank God that when I was in search of mercy, when I was condemned and knew that I was wrong, he sent his son on the Eastern horizon. And when the sunbeam broke through the sky, I remembered that his mercy is renewed every morning, and everything is going to be all right. And today, I am thankful that when I needed a Savior, he showed up himself. He came and he redeemed me. Is there anybody in this sanctuary this morning who is remembering the Lord's day, who is considering the goodness of God and the blessings that he's poured out upon them, who's looking at where you are and where you would have been had it not been for the Lord who was on your side? Is there anybody here today who can know what it means to rejoice in the joy of your salvation?
Today I am thankful and today I am hopeful. And I am both of these things, because I have been permanently stained by the blood of Jesus Christ. And so we read in the book of Romans 8:31. If you're there, say, amen. "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He, who did not spare his own son but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies".
Heavenly Father, let this word penetrate our hearts, our minds, and our spirits today: that we would recognize that you are on your throne and you are on our side. And therefore, we have reason to believe that we can indeed do all things through Christ, who gives us strength. In your precious name, we pray and receive this word. And all of God's children said... praise the Lord!
You may be seated. Paul begins this passage by saying: and what shall we say to these things? In order to understand why he begins this way, you first have to look back at the case that he has been building. Paul is letting us know that there is a right way to live and there is a wrong way to live. You may choose how you want to live wrong. But there is only one way to live right. And Paul begins building this case all the way back in the first chapter of the book of Romans. By the time we get to Romans 8:31, it's literally a crescendo of confidence. Paul is so full of joy, considering what he is, and what God has done, and what that makes him: that he simply cannot contain it. And he says: what shall we say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
Now I don't know how you read the Bible. But when I read the Bible, I give everybody voices. And I listen to their volume. And I kind of feel what they were feeling when they write. And I've never seen Paul go, and what shall we say to these things? If God be for us, comma, this is not that kind of moment. Paul has a crescendo of confidence. Everything that he's been saying for several chapters builds up to this one declaration. And he wants the world on the earth to know, and he wants the angels in heaven to know, and he wants every power and principality to know that he has a secret weapon that they cannot do anything about. And that weapon is this: that God is for him. And if God be for him, who can be against him? And then he begins to tell us why. He says, if God didn't spare his own son, if he gave us what he valued the most, how will he not freely give us all things?
And Paul builds this case beginning in the book of Romans, the 1st chapter. In Romans 1:17, he makes this statement. He says: the just shall live by faith. Say that with me, the just shall live by faith. Now, if you're going to enjoy your life, you've got to have confidence. And if you're going to have confidence, you need to know some things about yourself. First, you need to have a sense of your identity. There are a lot of people in this world walking through an identity crisis. They change themselves like chameleons. They see a magazine cover and they become what they see, because they don't know who they are. You ask somebody, "Who are you"? And they'll tell you what they do. That's not your identity: that's your activity. Your identity is where you begin the foundation of your confidence.
And Paul declares his identity in Romans 1. He says: I am just. I'm not a perfect man. I'm a fallen man but I'm justified. I admit that I've done wrong, but God has made a way where there seems to be no way for me to be all right. Not only do you need to know your identity, but you need to understand your capability. How many of you recognize what you're capable of? How many of you are away of what you're not capable of? You need to have a firm grip on both. For example, if you invited me to join you for a cheese burger, I am fully confident that I am capable of accomplishing the mission. I am your guy. But if coach Popovich calls and says, hey, we need a little help at point guard. Hum. I can point to the guard. But I may not be that guy.
Now if I'm going to live with confidence, I've got to know what I can do, and I've got to know what I can't do. And Paul continues with this confidence session in Romans 2, when he makes it very clear in Romans 2:1 that none of us can accuse the rest of us of anything. He says: one man cannot condemn another man, because the moment that a fallen man condemns another fallen man, he himself is guilty of sin. It's Paul's way of saying, if you point out someone else's imperfections, all you're doing is magnifying your own. So Paul understands that he's capable of sinning. And he understands that he's not capable of judging someone else. Could you imagine what would happen to the body of Christ if we were to take more time to look at ourselves and improve us and encourage others?
That begins in understanding who you are and what you're capable of. Not only does Paul recognize that he's not capable of judging, but he does announce that he is indeed capable of sinning. In Romans 3:23, he says: all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Say that with me, all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Now when it comes to sin, we typically in our lives want to make sure that the crime is tangible. We want to be able to point at somebody for a deed that they have done, and be able to say, on December the 15th at 12:02 P.M., you walked into the bank and you robbed it. That's sin. The Bible says: thou shalt not steal. But here's what James said about sin. He said: to him who knows to do right and does it not, to him, it is sin.
Have you ever known better and just chose not to? Don't raise your hand. It ain't the altar call yet. I don't want you to wear yourself out before we get there. Have you ever lived a day when you didn't give God the place that he deserved in your life? According to God's standard, that's sin. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of who? God. And therefore, Paul not only understands who he is and what he is, but he begins to consider in Romans 4, what others have done about this problem. And this gives him cause to right what he wrote about the just living by faith. He says all of us are sinners. And if we're going to live justified before God, we've got to live by faith. He says this is what Abraham did.
Abraham lived by faith and he was a friend of God. David lived by faith. And Paul points this out by stating the fact that David, when he instituted the sacrifices, he believed in faith that those sacrifices cleansed him of sin. You and I live in a world in which we try to be a part of a church. And sometimes in the church here in the United States, they're trying to change what God has established as paying the price for sin. They don't want to talk about the cross and Christ crucified. They don't want to talk about the blood of Jesus and how it washes away your stains. They don't want to talk about the transgressors, who need to get to the foot of the cross and allow Jesus Christ to change that old man into a new creature in Christ Jesus. But I'm here to tell you today: just like Paul said, this is how David did it and this is how Abraham did it, I as a pastor in the church of Jesus Christ on the earth today, will tell you, I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ!
It is still the power of God unto salvation! And the reason we need salvation is because we have a root problem. Paul in Romans 5 tells us that the problem began with sin. If all have sinned, where did it come from? And we've tried to make this a lot harder than it is, but it's really simple. Paul tells us in Romans 5:12 that all have sinned, because by one man (Adam) did sin enter the world. And because he was that man, it spread to every other man. Now I am one of five children. And because those five children in my father's house came from him, we all have similar characteristics, but we have all some things that are different.
Now how many of you experience this phenomenon? You look and you say, well you got dad's nose, and you got mom's eyes, and you got this, and you got their attitude, and, I'll just let you decide who's who in this story. And the reason that we have this thing in common is because we come from the same source. And I think it's important for us to remember, as the body of Christ in this sanctuary today: that when it comes to fallen man, we all come from the same source. We often like to point out the misdeeds of others and ignore our own. But our misdeeds and their misdeeds come from the same root problem. We use all kinds of things in this world to divide us. We use our culture. We use where we come from. We use what church we go to. We use what education we have. We use our financial status. And we use these things as cause for division. But if the body of Christ is to re-establish his kingdom like he wants, we've got to start tearing down those walls and building bridges.
You say, well, how is that possible? You've got to find what you've got in common. I'll give you a case and point. My mother's Hispanic. She's Mexicana. And people will ask me from time to time, "Are you a Latino"? I say, "No, I'm a Mexican". Because culturally, I don't want to be confused with those other Latinos. Soy Mexicano. Have you ever asked somebody, "Are you a Christian"? "No, I'm a Baptist". Why? Because you don't want to be confused with those Presbyterians. We've identified what's made us different instead of considering what makes us the same.
And Paul tells us all, here's what makes you the same, you're all sinners. You all come from the same root problem. Consider this in the application of those you love dearly. I've got a three-year-old daughter, and I'll find her with chocolate and crumbs all around her mouth. And I'll go, Madi, did you eat a cookie? And she goes, well, is it parking behind your teeth? She didn't have to go to a woman's seminar to learn about sin. Not that that's where you learn about that stuff. She wasn't trained up like this. She was born like this. She's a lot like her grandpa when it comes to cookies. And he's that way, because he comes from a long line of sinners.
This is who we are. We might as well admit it. We often times want to say, "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me, but as for you, he's got more work to do". Paul says, one man is the root of sin. And every one of us, no matter your culture, no matter your color, no matter your continent, no matter your creed, you're just branches from this tap root of sin. And just a few verses later, he makes it very clear: and if by one man did sin enter the world, then God sent another man. And by that man was sin defeated. And his name was Jesus Christ. For Paul says: by where sin did abound, grace did that much more abound. Give the Lord a handclap of praise for his matchless grace.
And Paul, in Romans 6, describes this sin nature. He says: because we're sinners, we are then slaves to sin. And Satan is the one who keeps the slaves in sin. Now it's a very important picture, because it helps you understand why you were the way you were when you were in sin. I know a lot of people who did things they did not want to do. But they couldn't help themselves from doing it. And the reason is Romans 6: you were a slave to sin. When you're a slave, you do the will of the master. And if Satan is your master while you're in sin, you'll do what he says and not what you want. Sin says, take it: you're addicted to it. You don't want to take it, but you will. Sin says, drink it: you need it. You don't want to drink it, but you're going to. Sin says, steal it: it's yours. You might not feel like it's yours, but sin said to.
And in this, Paul says we are slaves to sin. And Paul begins to understand the dynamics of who he is. One, he is a sinner who has been justified: two, he is still capable of that old life. But something changed. He recognized that God sent someone to do something about his problem. And though the wages of sin is death, he (God) sent his son to pay that price. And he (Paul) has now been bought with that price. And therefore, where there was pain and suffering and agony and heartache and sorrow, Paul says: I now have joy unspeakable and full of glory. And as he considers these things, he builds himself up in a crescendo of confidence. And he says: what shall we say of these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? Whom the son sets free is free indeed! Give the Lord a handclap of praise!
And Paul lets us know that he has accepted a permanent stain. Everything's changed. This concept of blood being used for redemption to pay a price is not new. It begins in Genesis. Paul didn't introduce it: he just expounded upon it. In Genesis 3, God finds Adam and Eve fallen in sin, hiding in the garden, trying to cover themselves with leaves. And the Bible says that God took the skins of animals and he gave it to them to be covered, because in their sin, they could not stand before God. The leaves represented the works of their hands. And even to this day, there are people who are trying to stand before God by the works of their hands. You can't do it. He's got to cover you. And the only way for him to cover you is for the innocent to die on behalf of the guilty.
People say, well I've read Genesis and it doesn't say God killed those animals. Until you find an animal with a zipper, tell me how else he's killed them. There's only one way to skin it. It continues with Abraham. God wants to enter a covenant with Abraham. And he says, there must be a sacrifice of blood, because you're a fallen man. And Abraham creates the sacrifice, and he and God enter into covenant. And throughout Abraham's life, these sacrifices were repeated, which is what Paul speaks about when he says, "He was the friend of God". Even to the point that when Abraham didn't have a sacrifice, God said, take your son Isaac and sacrifice him. The innocent was going to die on behalf of the guilty. But in Isaac's place, God, in his grace, sent a ram in the thicket. It was a picture of what he was going to do for you and I years later.
Continue with this concept of there needing to be a sacrifice for sin. The Bible says: there is no remission of sin without the shedding of blood. And in Exodus 12, God tells Moses to tell the fathers in Israel that he's about to do something that is going to change their identity. You see Moses has been at work in Egypt. And while he's working, he is dismantling all of the Gods of Egypt. He walks before Pharaoh and he says: let my people go. And Pharaoh says, no. And Moses taking his rod and he throws it down and it becomes a cobra. It's the same type of cobra that Pharaoh had on his headdress. It was an Egyptian God. And the children of Israel, who had been enslaved for 400 years, they recognized that this cobra was something that Egypt worshiped. They weren't really impressed by the fact that a stick became a snake. It might impress me. It might impress you, but not them. Jannes and Jambres, Pharaoh's sorcerers, they throw down their sticks and they become cobras.
See everybody's doing it. But suddenly Moses' cobra eats their cobra. And now they're impressed. Apparently this town's not big enough for three snakes. What God did with that first miracle and every miracle subsequent to it was show the children of Israel that this I am, this Jehovah was greater than every God that the Egyptians served. They worship the Nile. I'll turn it to blood. They worship the sun. I'll turn it to darkness. They think frogs are where babies come from. I'm going to send so many frogs: they're going to wish that they could hop away. Every plague is God dismantling the Gods of Egypt. But in Exodus 12, God takes it a step further. And it's a very important picture for us to understand. Because if we are going to fully recognize what it means that God is for us, who can be against us, then we must assess this picture from the Passover. And it goes like this. God tells Moses, tell the fathers in Israel, "Go find a male lamb, a one-year old, a spotless lamb, and bring him to the door of your house and tie him there".
Now from Judeo-Christian eyes, we see this, as it should be, as a type and a shadow of Jesus Christ. John the Baptist said: this is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world. Peter said: he was slain from the foundations of the world. So without question, we recognize that this innocent lamb, through our Christian perspective, is Jesus Christ that is about to pay the price for death that we might go free. But let's look at it from an Egyptian perspective. Every one of Egypt's Gods has been challenged and defeated by Moses and his rod but one. That Egyptian God is named Amun-Ra. And Amun-Ra, when you look in Egyptian hieroglyphics, is the picture of a man's body with a ram's head. And Amun-Ra was the God above Gods. He was the big boss of all the little bosses.
So whenever the Nile is defeated, and whenever frogs are defeated, and whenever the sun is defeated, and whenever the cobra is defeated, all of the Egyptians say, well those are just little small Gods on the totem pole: they still haven't messed with the big guy. And suddenly, those who had enslaved the children of Israel, see the slaves walk out and take possession of what they should not touch, because those lambs were earthly representations of Amun-Ra. And when they see the children of Israel grab these lambs, they say, how dare you. And when they see that lamb get taken to the door and tied up, put in bondage, they say, slave, who are you to decide where that lamb gets tied? They went back to their Egyptian homes, and they said to each other. That's too far. They're getting all independent, acting like they can make their own decisions.
You wait to Amun-Ra, he comes to town: he's going to take them all out. Amun-Ra's going to kill every, every Israeli. Every Jew that touches one of those lambs, he's going to die. And for 14 days, they watched this, waiting for judgment. Judgment came, because in Exodus 12, God told Moses, you tell those fathers on the 14th day at sunset, walk out and cut that lamb's throat. What they expected to be too powerful for these people to possess, not only did they demonstrate that they could possess it, but then they killed it. And that caught its blood in a bowl. And then they took herbs and they spread that blood over the doorpost of the house. And then they took portions of the lamb, and they went inside, and they ate it.
Now as Christians, we're sitting here going, well that's the picture of Jesus Christ, his blood and his body. And indeed it is. But as an Egyptian, we're going that's the baddest God of all the Gods. And not only did they cut his throat, they barbecued him. And that night, the Egyptians went to bed, and they said, man, bad things are going to happen in town tonight. Our God is coming to town and he's going to take these people out. And God told Moses, that night I'm going to let the death angel pass through the streets of Egypt. And listen: every place where there is blood, I'm going to pass over. And every place where there is not, the death angel is going to take the life of the firstborn.
Now the thing that we often misappropriate is that we believe that that night the death angel was not allowed to touch the children of Israel. That's not true. He wasn't allowed to touch the place where he found blood. He would walk to the door and he would say, God, there's sinners in there. And God would say, there's a permanent stain over the door: pass on. And the Bible says that there was so great a cry in all of Egypt that it had never been heard before or never been heard since, because everywhere where there was not a permanent stain, there was a funeral the next day.
Think about it. What's the appropriate point? Paul said in the book of Colossians that our God, Jesus Christ, at a place called Calvary, he made a public spectacle of powers and principalities. He went in to sin's slave market, and he empowered the slaves to take possession of what was theirs: that they might receive everlasting life. When he shed his blood, every power and every principality, and every force that could keep you enslaved to sin was put on notice that because the lamb had died, and the because the blood had been accepted that every child of God, who called upon the his name, would be set free. "For whom the Son sets free is free indeed".
Child of God, the enemy has no power to conquer you! The grave has been defeated! Powers and principalities tremble when you mention the name of Jesus! You have no cause for concern! Every chain has been broken! Every shackle has been shattered! Every victim has now become a victor! Every tragedy can be turned into triumph! What you could not do, you can now do, because you have the power of God that lives inside of you and you're more than a conqueror through Christ!
You see there's two sides to every story. The children of Israel saw it as their liberation ticket. People who kept them captive, the Egyptians, said, this will finish them. But when God sent his Son to the cross, there were two sides to the story. There was mine and yours. But he was dying that we might go free. And then there were those who were watching from the other side, saying, they thought everything would change. But look at him. We've got him under arrest. They thought this would make a difference. But listen to them. They're falsely accusing him. They thought that after this, they could go free. But there he is being nailed to the cross by his hands and by his feet.
From their perspective, we were getting ready to lose. But from God's perspective, he said, he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of my peace was upon him. And by his stripes, I have been healed. When they put a crown on his head, they made me royalty. When they nailed him to that old, rugged cross, they set me free. When he lifted up his head and said it was finished, every charge that was placed against me now had a permanent stain of the blood of the lamb, so that when death passes by my dwelling, God Almighty says, I know what he used to be, but whom the Son sets free is free indeed! Pass on! That's my child! That's my child! That's the redeemed of the Lord! Oh church, if God be for us, who can be against us? Give the Lord a shout of praise!
There were no sinners and there were no saints in Egypt. There were only the stained and those that walked in ignorance. There are no sinners and there are no saints in this sanctuary. There are no innocent and there are no guilty. We've all sinned. The question is: are you stained? Are you permanently stained? Have you, like Paul, said, I want to live by faith: that the blood of that lamb might be all that I need to go free? Would you stand to your feet in the presence of the Lord. With every head bowed and every eye closed, you have a choice to make today, a decision to make that enables God and his promises to become real in your life or a choice that allows you to stay just like you are right now.
If you're in this place, and you say, pastor, I need to come under the covering of the blood of Jesus Christ. I know who I am. I know what I'm capable of, but in faith today, I want to receive his grace, his mercy, and his forgiveness. Right where you are, I want you to raise your hand all over this room, all over this room. Some of you are fathers like the fathers in the city of Egypt. You need to put that blood over the doorpost of your family. Some of you are parents. And like those who made a decision to be under his covering stain that day, you need to extend that stain over your children and your children's children. You can change everything today if, in faith, you'll say, "Lord, I believe. Lord, I receive. Lord, I'm yours".
If that's who you are and that's what you need, put your hand in the air. Put your hand in the air, and show God that today you need him more than anything else. And while we worship the Lord in this sanctuary and close this service, those of you, who know you need that stain, I want you to begin walking this way. This altar is open. If you raised your hand to receive Christ, come this way. Sing. Those of you coming from the balcony, we'll wait. They're still coming from all parts of this building. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.
Maybe you're watching from television today and you know that you need his blood. You know you need to be stained, forgiven, and set free. Today, as we gather in this sanctuary to pray, right where you're watching, you can pray. You can receive all that Paul declared when he said, "If God be for you, who can be against you"? As we give God the opportunity to change hearts and lives and families in this place, as we give him the chance to break chains and shackles of bondage, I want you to join us so that you can feel and experience what God is doing in this place, no matter where you're watching from. People are still coming. Sing. I want everyone in this sanctuary to extend your hands towards this altar. I want you at this altar to extend your hands towards heaven. And I want every individual under the sound of my voice to repeat this prayer with me:
Lord Jesus Christ, today I thank you for what you have done for me. Today I receive the blood of the Lamb, in faith believing, doubting nothing: that because of you and your life, your death, your resurrection, my debts have been paid. The wages of my sin have been erased. The chains of my bondage have been broken. The joy of the Lord is now my strength. The hope of God is now mine. The peace of God belongs to me. The prosperity of the righteous is mine. The strength of the faithful is mine. And there is nothing that any enemy, that any power, that any principality can do about it, because I have been stained by the blood of Jesus Christ, and I am free. My past is no more. I am victorious, because I have been crowned as more than a conqueror. And in Jesus' name, I have victory. And I rejoice in the joy of my salvation.
Now if you're here today and you're thankful for that gift, give the Lord a handclap of praise. If you're thankful that you've been set free, give the Lord a shout of triumph! He is worthy! He is worthy! Would you give him glory today. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. I want you to raise your hand for the blessing.
Now Father, bless them, and keep them, and make your face to shine upon them. Be gracious town them and give them peace, peace to know that God is indeed for us: and therefore, no power, nor principality, nor force of darkness shall stand against us. Every charge has been covered in the blood of the Lamb. Every sentence has been erased. And those who were once counted as dead, have everlasting life through Jesus Christ. We rejoice in this salvation today. And all of God's children said, praise the Lord.