1,000+1,000+1,000+1,000……Thousands of Rams.
10,000……Ten thousand rivers flowing deep with oil.
Rebellion = Must we give our firstborn child as a sacrifice. 
Our sins……Shall we give all that we have to buy back our innocence OR Shall we pay for our many sins with whatever good comes forth from our bodies?
Oftentimes, we think we can do all the right things.
Oftentimes, we also think we have the power to say only the right things.
We even put on our best behavior before the crowd we hang with, putting on a good show because that’s what we know others expect of us.

A GOOD SHOW.

I love it when I am in sitting in church and my pastor states,  “Raise your hand if you’re a sinner.”  Up goes my hand….not because I am proud to be one (you know….a sinner), but I am relieved to identify to those sitting there with me that I am a total screw-up, a sinner, just like them.
No more.  No less.
And then, the pressure is off because I am free to be me….a sinner saved only by the grace of God.

“Thank You Jesus for saving a wretch like me……for once I was lost, but now I am found, was blind but now I see.”

Today, I am compelled to remind each of us that God knew exactly what He was creating when He fashioned you and me.  That’s right.

God knew we were a mess; that’s why He sent Jesus.
God knew we needed a Savior; that’s why He sent Jesus.
God knew we could not save ourselves; that’s why He sent Jesus.

GOD KNEW!!!!

• THAT’S WHY GOD SENT JESUS…..TO DIE FOR ALL MANKIND’S SINS!!!
• THAT’S WHY GOD ALLOWED HIS ONLY SON TO BE PLACED INSIDE THE TOMB & FOR THE HUGE STONE TO SEAL THE TOMB’S OPENING…..TO SHOW THE WORLD THAT NO ONE STOLE THE BODY!!!
• THAT’S WHY GOD ALLOWED JESUS TO REMAIN DEAD, INSIDE THE TOMB…..TO SHOW THE WORLD THAT JESUS REALLY DIED!!!
• THAT’S WHY ON THE THIRD DAY, GOD RESURRECTED JESUS BACK TO LIFE…..TO SHOW THE WORLD THAT JESUS REALLY WAS WHO HE SAID HE WAS!!!
• JESUS…..THE SON of MAN  &  THE SON of GOD!!!
• THAT’S WHY JESUS WAS SEEN BY 500+ AFTER HIS RESURRECTION…..TO SHOW THE WORLD THAT HE WAS TRULY ALIVE!!! &
• THAT’S WHY JESUS ASCENDED BACK TO HEAVEN AND SAT DOWN AT GOD’S RIGHT HAND…..TO REMIND US & TO ASSURE US THAT HE WILL COME AGAIN!!!

We live in a world of such falseness, one where we can project to the world our “best” moments, our “perfect” families, and our “exceptional” lives.
THOSE THINGS JUST DO NOT EXIST!!!!!!!
And so, if God does NOT wish for us to sacrifice our thousands of rams, OR to dig ten thousand rivers and fill them with oil…..
And if God does NOT need us to present our firstborn as a consecrated gift to Him, NOR to give as payment what just can NEVER be acceptable as payment for our sins…..THEN,
What really does God require of us?

“He has told you, O man, what is good; 
And what does the LORD require of you”
[God has revealed to us exactly what He desires of us.  Truly, it is NOT a mystery.]
“But to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6: 7-8).

THAT’S IT!
THAT’S ALL!
NOTHING MORE & NOTHING LESS!

“To do justice,”—Do what is truthful & right, treating others right…..Always.
“To love kindness,”—Love others as ourselves…..Always.
“And to walk humbly with your God.”—Seek God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength…..Always.
That’s It.
That’s all God requires.

Jason Crabb sings a beautiful melody reminding us exactly how we are to come to Jesus Christ—-“Just as I Am.”
God knows us; God created us.
God knows us; God fashioned us within our mother’s womb.

“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 
For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.
Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

(Hebrews 5: 14-16)

Let us stop living “for show,” &
Let us begin living “for real,” coming before Jesus just as we are!!!!