Sunday Evening Worship Service | Dr. Anthony “The Voice of Blood!”
by Anthony McCool
First Apostolic Church of Knoxville (Knoxville, TN)
Kind: sermon
Scripture: Genesis 4:10, Hebrews 12:24

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/anthony-mccool--sunday-evening-worship-service-27
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

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I welcome each and every one of you to Sunday evening. What a tremendous day in the Lord that we have had on this beautiful, beautiful Sunday. I never take it lightly, the opportunity to preach, to minister to what I feel is the greatest congregation on the face of this earth. And it is always, always a privilege. This past Friday morning, we got to celebrate our apostolic Christian school seniors. And it's just uh brother Jason at our junior senior banquet gave his testimony and it's just been a a great week of of reminiscing and remembering of uh all of the different testimonies that make up this great congregation on how uh God collectively through every single one of you has just continued time after time to provide and miracle after miracle. And as I I I like to continue to remind us that your your testimony is the greatest sermon ever preached. And let me say along with the announcements we come up tying into that uh great evangelist Michael Moffin's going to be ministering to us on I believe that's the Sunday, May 17th, something around there, whatever that Sunday is, but he'll be with us in our AM. And then he'll be uh ministering to our Apostolic Christian School class of 2026. So, we're looking forward to that as well. Another product of this great of the great saints of FAC. And I give Bishop the the highest uh honor tonight because as all of our stories and testimonies, him and my grandmother just centered around their their dream and their vision and their faith walk in Christ. And I love them dearly. What a tremendous sermon we heard this morning from Pastor Mcool keeping us reminded about the the words that exit the lips of our mouth and the power uh that is in them. If you have your Bibles tonight, we're going to look at an Old Testament scripture and a New Testament script. The Old Testament scripture, Genesis 4 and 10 and then New Testament, Hebrews 12 verse 24. Genesis 4:10 states, "And he said, What hast thou done? The voice of thy brother's blood crith unto me from the ground." Hebrews 12:24 and to Jesus the mediator. Everybody say mediator >> of the new covenant and to the blood of sprinkling that speaketh speaketh better things than that of Abel. I want to preach from the topic this evening entitled the voice of blood. the voice of blood. Let's get right into it this evening. There there are sounds in scripture that cannot be heard with the natural ear. They're not carried on wind or measured in vibration, but they echo through eternity. Among those sounds, one stands above the rest. a voice that rises not from lips as we've kind of had the theme of today but from life itself and it is the voice of blood in the beginning of the sacred story before kings were crowned and before temples were built the first book and the lids of your Bible before law was written and before prophets thunder wondered there was a cry, not a prayer, not a hymn, a cry. And when Genesis tells us of the first murder, the slang of Abel by his brother Cain, the Lord speaks words that reverberate across all of redemptive history. God says, "The voice of your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground." blood crying, not silent, not forgotten, not absorbed in the soil of obscurity, but vocal, testifying, summoning divine attention, crying out from the ground. And from that moment, scripture becomes a record of blood that speaks. In an age marked by refinement of language and sensitivity of expression, there is an increasing tendency to soften or altogether silence the biblical emphasis on blood. I have sat in academic circles where it was the opinion of many who frown upon and even refrain from referencing blood in sermons and in lessons. Brother Barbara, they even went as far as to say, "We must be oh so cautious even singing about it." To which the class was asked, "At what age were you introduced to the blood of Jesus?" Which that question is a bit foreign to me. Is one of the first songs I remember singing as a child was the question asked. Are you washed in the blood in the soul cleansing blood of the lamb? Are your garments spotless? Are they white as snow? Are you washed in the blood of the lamb? And that's all it would take for the chorus. We wouldn't even get into the verses and there's people running and shouting. So even the question in and of itself was a bit foreign to me. And the explanation being the modern ear often recoils as its vivid vividness and uh the perceiving TALKING ABOUT SUCH A subject matter as primitive OR UNSETTLING AND JUST UNNECESSARILY GRAPHIC. YES, there is wisdom and invoiding needless harshness or careless speech. I completely agree. But I would say there is great danger and I would say even heresy in trimming away that which God himself made central. For scripture does not treat blood as incidental imagery, but as sacred theology, weighty, deliberate, and essential. And please know my aspiration tonight is not to create a straw man and uh uh something to punch at and create a a a line of talking points. That's advocacy for uh fighting with somebody with THAT'S THAT'S THE BLOOD SPEAKS ON ITSELF for itself and it does not need me to be an apologist for it and that is not my goal. But to remove the language of blood is not merely to adjust tone. It is to obscure the gospel truth. It is to lose SIGHT OF THE PROFOUND COST of redemption and the gravity of sin that necessitated it. The doctrine of atonement is not abstract sentiment. It is substitution. It is the innocent standing in the place of the guilty. It is the life given for life. We must speak of it. IT IS ESSENTIAL CHURCH DOCTRINE. To refrain from doing so is heresy. No, we don't speak of it with flippency or coarseness, but we do so with reverence. For in the shedding of blood, we behold both the severity of divine justice and the absolute depths of divine mercy. It is solemn, it is sacred, and it is indispensable. Without it, the gospel is emptied of its power, and the cross is reduced to a mere symbol. rather than its saving reality. Abel's blood is the first sermon preached by death. It's the declaration that sin is not abstract. It wounds. It spills and it cries out. THE BLOOD DOES NOT whisper mercy. It demands justice. It is accusatory and it rises from the earth like an incense of indictment. And in this condition of humanity east of Eden, a world where the ground itself bears witness against us. But God, his mercy does not leave humanity with only that voice. But the pattern emerges as the gospel narrative unfolds through Exodus and the giving of the law. We begin to see another kind of blood not merely spilled in violence but in sacrifice offered in sacrifice. In Egypt on the night of deliverance, lamb's blood is painted upon the doorpost. It does not cry out for judgment, but it shields from it. The destroyer passes over not because Israel is righteous, BUT BECAUSE BLOOD speaks on their behalf. Then comes the tabernacle. Then comes the temple. Blood becomes central. Blood becomes inescapable. Blood becomes unable to be ignored. Every altar stained, every priest robed in proximity to sacrifice. And at the center of it all stands the high priest. In Leviticus, we encounter the sacred choreography of atonement. Once a year on the day of atonement, the high priest enters in behind the veil. The boundary between the holy and the most holy. He does not enter casually. He does not enter emptyhanded. But he carries blood. Blood for himself. Blood for the people. Blood that must be sprinkled upon the mercy seat. The place where justice and mercy meet and there are strict conditions. No one may touch him. No one may follow him. HE ALONE STANDS IN that sacred space trembling between life and death bearing the weight of nation sin. And the veil stands as a testimony. Access is restricted and intimacy is dangerous. HOLINESS IS NOT to be trifled with. And yet EVEN IN THIS SYSTEM, AS SACRED AS IT IS, is insufficient. Because the blood of bulls and goats cannot ultimately silence the deeper cry that we read about in Genesis, the cry, the voice of Abel's blood, the cry of human guilt, the cry embedded in creation itself. The prophets, as you go on through the word of God, begin to whisper of something greater. Not another sacrifice, but a final sacrifice. Not another priest, but a perfect one. And so as we arrive at the gospels, we are not merely reading history, but we become eyewitnesses to fulfillment. In John, a voice cries out in the wilderness, behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of this world. not covers, not delays, takes away. Jesus does not come merely to participate in the sacrificial system. He comes to fulfill and transcendent. He is both priest and offering. He is the altar and he is the lamb. He is the one who brings the blood and he is the blood itself. And at the cross, every stream of blood in scripture converges. Abel's blood that cried for justice, the Passover lamb's blood that SHIELDED FROM WRATH, THE sacrificial blood of Leviticus THAT SOUGHT ATONEMENT. ALL OF IT MEETS here in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. And something astonishing happens. His blood does not cry in the manner that ables does. For Hebrews tells us that Jesus blood speaks a better word than the one of Abel. Abel's blood cried condemnation, but Jesus blood cries forgiveness. ABEL'S BLOOD DEMANDED JUSTICE. Jesus blood satifs and extends mercy. This is the theological pivot. And to all but one, the veil was forbidden ground. No man could pass beyond it except the high priest. And he could only do it one time each year. Not at his own choosing, but by divine command. Not empty-handed, but I reiterate as I mentioned earlier, but bearing sacrificial blood. To enter carelessly or contrary to God's ordinance, was to invite judgment. Thus, the Holy of Holies, the dwelling of God's presence, remained shut away, separated from man. And by a heavy veil, Israel drew near, yet never fully worshiped. Only at a distance. Only the high priests of Aaron's line, purified and bearing an acceptable sacrifice, could enter the sacred place and only do so once a year to make atonement for himself and the unintentional sins of the people. Such was the divide sin had wrought. The blood that screamed out from Abel. A HOLY GOD DWELLING AMONG UNHOLY PEOPLE. Present yet separated yet veiled. Accessible yet not to be freely approached. This was the appointed order. God's own provision by which holiness was upheld even as he remained among the people. But as the hour of his death, a wonder occurred that must never be diminished. And it is the central message of our faith. The veil of the temple was torn. Notice from top to the bottom, not by the hand of man reaching upward, but by God himself reaching down to humanity. And the barrier was removed. The separation was undone. The way was opened and no longer does one man enter yearly with the blood of another. NOW THE BLOOD OF JESUS ALL MAY DRAW NEAR. ALL MAY ENTER FREELY. ALL MAY ENTER BOLDLY. AND HIS PRESENCE NOW ACCEPTABLE TO every single person from generation to generation to generation to generation forever more. And at the resurrection, the moment is sacred and deliberate. When Mary Magdalene reaches for the risen Christ, he says, "Do not touch me, for I have yet ascended, and this is not rejection, but revelation." Like the high priest under the Levitical law, set apart in the act of offering, Christ stands as the true high priest in fulfilling that commission risen and preparing to present his own blood, not in an earthly tabernacle, but in a heavenly sanctuary. But here comes the pivot as Bishop used to preach about, still preaches about. When you're condemned and there's a charge against you, you walk into that courtroom and be behind the podium there, Jesus is the judge. But then as the charges are begin to read and asking how you're going to plea, Jesus also steps over as your pro as your defense attorney and advocates and witnesses on your behalf. Elder Johnny James that preached for us every Easter, he told the story that he got a speeding ticket. And uh if any man could, it would be Johnny James because he went to court to defend himself over the speeding ticket. And he's known as the walking talking Bible. He has just an encyclopedic uh memory. And so the story goes, he went to represent himself and the judge asked said, "Mr. James, we've got notification and a charge that you've been speeding and it looks like you're defending yourself. How do you plead?" HE SAID, "I'M GUILTY AND I PLEAD the blood of Jesus Christ." And the judge, I think, slapped the gavvel down, said, "Johnny, get out of here and stop speeding." Jesus reconciles the sin because then he appears to again to the disciples. And this time he doesn't say, "Do not touch me." But he says, "Feel my wounds. Touch me. He invites even deeper. Put your hand into my side. The offering is complete. The blood has been presented and atonement is finished. What was once restricted is now open. Once that once that was distant is now right here in the room with you. This is not contradiction, but it is fulfillment. musicians, if you would please come and sing. If you trace the thread from Genesis to Revelation, you will find that scripture is not merely a collection of stories, but it's an everflowing crimson river. It begins with a cry from the ground. It flows through altars and lambs and covenants. It passes through Egypt, through the Sinai, and into Jerusalem. It reaches the climax at Calvary. And in Revelation, the last book in the Bible, we see the redeeming standing clothed in white, having washed their robes, as the song says. And it says they will be saved by the blood of the lamb and the word of their testimony. AND THE PARADOX, THE GOSPEL MESSAGE NOW BECOMES COMPLETE. THE VOICE OF BLOOD THAT SPEAKS ON YOUR BEHALF. BLOOD THAT STAINS NOW IS THE CLEANSING AGENT. BLOOD THAT ONCE CONDEMNED AND CRIED OUT FOR VENGEANCE, CRIED OUT FOR RETRIBUTION, NOW BECOMES REDEMPTION. BLOOD THAT CRIED FOR JUSTICE NOW BECOMES MERCY. I WANT TO INVITE SOMEBODY JUST IN THIS SACRED MOMENT AS WE TALK ABOUT THE CENTRAL DOCTRINE OF OUR FAITH TO MAYBE JUST JUST REFLECT ON WHAT GOD HAS PLACED ON YOUR LIFE. THE BLOOD OF PROTECTION OVER YOURSELF AND OVER YOUR HOMES. I'M NOT GOING TO CHEERLEAD YOU. I'M NOT GOING TO UH ENCOURAGE YOU AND CLAP FOR YOU TO WORSHIP OR TO PRAISE. BUT I WONDER JUST IF THE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB OF JESUS, OH, JUST IN THIS HOUSE FOR TONIGHT COULD BE ENOUGH TO STIR YOUR SOUL. OH, I'M THANKFUL FOR THE BLOOD. I'M THANKFUL FOR the blood. Oh, just remain standing. And we come to the question, the gospel inquiry for our souls. What does it mean for you? It means that voice of blood still speaks on your behalf. And I ask you, which voice is going to define you? Is it the voice that cries out condemnation or is it the voice, the blood of the lamb that cries out redemption? Because the truth of the gospel is not merely that blood was shed. It is that blood is applied. Just as the Passover blood had to be placed upon the doorpost, so the blood of Christ must be received, trusted, rested in. And when it it is not merely covered you, it flows over you. Oh, you turn away from your sins and say, "God, I am a sinner. I'M SORRY FOR MY SINS. AND THEN YOU APPLY THAT BLOOD by going down in the name of THE ONE WHO SHED HIS BLOOD FOR YOU. OH, AND YOU COME UP A NEW CREATION. THAT BLOOD HAS BEEN APPLIED ON YOUR LIFE. OH, AND THEN HE FLOOR POURS THAT SPIRIT INSIDE OF YOU. OH, WHEN I BEGIN TO THINK ABOUT THAT, I JUST GET HAPPY. I DON'T EVEN NEED MUSIC TO SHOUT. I DON'T I DON'T EVEN NEED SOMEBODY SINGING UH TO GET ME EXCITED. OH, I'VE GOT THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB. BUT WHY PREACH ABOUT BLOOD? WHY LINGER ON SOMETHING SO UNSETTLING, SO VISCERAL, SO POTENTIALLY OFFENSIVE to the modern era. You're not saved by ideas. You're not saved by your effort. You're not even saved by having a sincere heart. Oh yes, it's exciting to have a revival. And yes, I do believe that God still works through prophecy and and prophets and for somebody to preach a word and perhaps specifically identify what it is I'm going through and uh what some good next steps would be. That's that's fantastic and I don't diminish that. But you're not saved by prophets. You're not saved by organized conferences. And I don't diminish the importance of those. Please understand, you are saved by the blood. >> And that blood once shed on a cross now stands as an eternal declaration over every believer. You are forgiven. You are cleansed. and you are redeemed. So when the blood is applied, every accusation must answer to a greater voice. Yes. when you study to preach on Sundays, you you when you when you're preparing, you want to think of things that you know, wow, this would be a tremendous sermon for somebody that might be struggling with this and they can see their story through this character and the the application is just so beautiful and all of that is perfect. Don't get me wrong. Do you know what's applicable to every single situation? The blood of the lamb. To know that even though there's a voice of condemnation, accu uh a voice of condemnation, accusation, there is a greater voice. The final unchanging testimony of redemption. No charge can stand. No verdict can endure. For the blood of Jesus speaks with divine authority before heaven and earth. It answers every report of guilt with pardon. Every whisper of condemnation with justification. EVERY CLAIM OF LOSS WITH THE PROMISE OF INCREASE. WHERE THERE IS DANGER, IT DECLARES SAFETY. Where there was sickness, IT PROCLAIMS HEALING. WHERE THERE WAS DIVISION, IT ESTABLISHES RECONCILIATION. WHERE THERE WAS RUIN, IT BRINGS RESTORATION. It brings healing. It brings COUPLES TOGETHER. IT BRINGS PROVISION. It brings vision. Anything you need, IT BRINGS PROTECTION. THE BLOOD OF JESUS over your life is a greater voice. As we bow our heads right now, I want to pray a prayer of remembrance. before I invite you to this altar, remembering your baptism, REMEMBERING THE DECISION THAT YOU MADE to have the blood of Jesus over your life. Lord, as we pray tonight, WE COME BEFORE you acknowledging that the CROSS IS NOT JUST SOME empty symbol. It's a covenant secured and that the price was fully paid. The blood does not argue, Lord, but we know that it speaks on its on on our behalf. It does not plead, but your word tells us that it prevails and its voice is not temporary. It is eternal. And there is NO DIMINISHING SUPPLY ON your blood. It says that your mercy and grace, your blood is new every single morning. It continues to flow. THERE'S NO BLOCKADE. THERE'S NO DAM. THERE'S NO DROUGHT THAT CAN PROHIBIT ITS FLOWING. So Lord, TONIGHT AS YOUR SAINTS OF GOD ARE PRAYING AND REMEMBERING THE SACRIFICE OF LOVE that you made for each and every one of us, Lord, we pray that every contrary word be silenced. LET EVERY FEAR BOW LOW. AND AT the name OF JESUS CHRIST, WE DECLARE THAT YOUR BLOOD SPEAKS A GREATER VOICE tonight in Jesus' name. I WOULD INVITE SOMEBODY this evening that where some voices in your life have been saying, "Nope, that's not going to be able to be restored. Nope, that's not going to be able to be reconciled. Nope, healing is not going to be able to take place in that situation. Nope, this situation's TOO FAR GONE. NOPE, THIS PERSON'S TOO FAR GONE. I WONDER AND I WOULD INVITE SOMEBODY TO STEP FORWARD IN FAITH RIGHT NOW TO SAY, "THE BLOOD THAT'S ON MY LIFE, OH, IT'S A GREATER VOICE. IT'S A LOUDER VOICE. OH, THAT blood that once stained, oh, it now cleanses. And I acknowledge tonight that Jesus Christ reigns supreme. Jesus Christ sits enthroned above all powers. JESUS CHRIST RULES as both king and the high priest. Jesus Christ kingdom is eternal. Jesus Christ is seated and finished in victory. Would you play that blood over your situation right now? >> Oh, I still believe there's power in the blood. >> I believe there's power in the blood. Yes, Jesus. Blood of Jesus. >> Oh, let it flow right now. Let it flow right now. Oh, over >> my situation. Over my sickness. I plead the blood of Jesus. >> I plead the blood of Jesus. Oh, the blood of Jesus washes me. Oh, the blood of Jesus shed for me. What a sacriice that save my life. Yes, the blood is my victory. It's the gospel message. It's what's applied over your life. It's what's applied over your needs. Would you take this time and say, "Thank you, Father, for the blood. Thank you for your sacrifice. I'm putting it on the doorpost. I'm putting it on my home. I'm putting it over my life. If you haven't been baptized, tonight, tonight's the night to put that blood on your life. Tonight's the night to put that blood on your life. I'm not going to neglect it. I'm not going to diminish it. >> Yes, Jesus. >> Yes, Jesus. Yes, the blood is my victory. >> Hallelujah. Hallelujah. We have brother Elias Fraser that's come tonight signifying his need to take on the name of Jesus. We're signifying the death, the burial, and the resurrection as we go down in the water and we rise to walk in newness of life. That shed blood is being signified right now. Hallelujah. We're going to pray right now as brother Elias goes down in Jesus name. Lord, we come before you so grateful for our precious brother. I thank you Lord that he's come forward signifying his need to take your name on in water baptism. Lord, as he goes down in the water for the remission of his sins, Lord, let him rise from the water to walk in newness of life. Lord, cleanse from all unrighteousness, Lord. Fill him with your spirit that he may forever be in your service for all this. We're grateful and thankful. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen. Elias, upon the profession of your faith in obedience to the word of God, I now do indeed baptize you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins. >> Oh, the blood of Jesuses. >> Yeah. Hallelujah. Yes, Lord. Lord, hallelujah. What a sacriice that saved my life. Yes, the blood is my victory. The blood of the lamb. Hallelujah. The blood of the lamb. >> Hallelujah. >> The blood of the lamb. The precious blood of the lamb. And what a sacriice that save my life. Yes. The blood. It is my victory. >> Would you lift your hands and love Jesus? Aren't you thankful for the voice of the blood that still speaks? Aren't you thankful for the power of the blood?