THERE’S STILL POWER IN THE BLOOD
I remember as a child growing up, I was always hearing my family pleading the blood. Pleading the blood over their health, their family, their finances, the attacks of the enemy, and on and on...... I have told you that Winnie puts a red cloth over our file box with all out financial records in it...The song about the plagues passing over the Jews in Gothan, but landing on all the Egyptians... says “when I see the blood, when I see the blood, when I see the blood I will pass, I will pass over you”
The blood represents life, hope, strength, power, brotherhood, renewal, new life, redemption, covenant, birthright, energy, balance, health, reconciliation, and atonement.
Blood sacrifices have been practiced in cultures and civilizations throughout history. Native Americans, the Incas and Aztec rituals involved blood sacrifices. North of the Rio Grande, many of the Natives practiced blood sacrifices. African religions and Egyptian religions employed blood sacrifices to appease their deities and obtain fruitful harvests. In Europe, Asia and the Middle East, the Greeks, the Romans, the Hindus, the Babylonians, the Canaanites, the Philistines and the Jews all practiced blood sacrifice. The First ever recorded blood sacrifice occurred around the time we refer to as the time of the beginning. The first man and the first woman, found themselves naked, because they were suddenly given something we know as a conscience, and that came as a result of sin, which was the result of eating from the forbidden tree. It probably wasn’t an apple, but then, who’s worried about facts..... It simply says “the fruit of the tree in the midst of the garden”.... (I think it was a mango, because that certainly is my weakness)!!! But, this new thing, that came because of sin.....their Conscience..... let them know they were naked, and being naked was never a problem before.... Adam and Eve had no guilt before. They hadn’t sinned against God before, so there was no reason for any shame. Now that they had violated His word, they realized they had violated the trust between themselves and God.. Now that they had sinned, they were keenly aware, in their guilt and shame, that they were exposed and needed a covering. Here is where the big cover up began....Believe me, when the light breaks through, the battle gets intense! The light will bring conscience.... Genesis 3:7 “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves”. Here you have it folks, The big cover up! They tried to cover up their guilt and shame with the product of their own efforts. This was the first recorded attempt at salvation by works— They sought to be free from guilt by covering up their nakedness through their own efforts... And mankind has been trying to cover their own nakedness every since. Through religion.... (I’m talking about using religion as a cover up, instead of turning to the one that religion should be all about)..... Using good works, acts of charity, self justification, and even resorting to chemicals, and cults, and the occult, to silence the voice inside which shouts the need for a covering..... It becomes evident that their own efforts to cover ourselves can’t redeem or save them from their guilt and shame. Adam and Eve were under the penalty promised in Genesis 2:16–17, “But you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”...... and they had died without realizing it—they were no longer able to enjoy the relationship with God, which they had up till that time.....that relationship had died, they were separated from Him and the relationship was severed. What’s more, now their bodies would also die because they had let death enter the planet....death was already at work and all the future generations would come under it....
God said in Genesis 3:19 “By the sweat of your brow, you will eat your food, until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.” They were intended for glory and now they would just return to dust....
God did something that would continue for thousands of years.... He sacrificed animals, in order to cover these two disobedient people that He had made. The garments of skin that God Himself made for Adam and Eve and placed upon them to cover their shame required the shedding of blood and it prophesied of a greater and more permanent salvation covering that would come in the person of Jesus Christ. No matter who they are, or what they have become... everyone, everywhere is looking for and know, they need a covering. They have resorted to many things in order to cover themselves. But there is only one covering.....
One night in a church service a young woman felt her nakedness, as her sin weighed on her conscience. She responded to God's call and accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior. The young woman whose name was Francis, had a very rough past, involving alcohol, drugs, and prostitution. But, the change in her was evident. As time went on, she .became a faithful member of the church. She eventually became involved in the ministry, teaching the young children. It was not very long until this faithful young woman had caught the eye and heart of the pastor's son, because of her zeal for God. The relationship grew and they began to make wedding plans. This is when the problems began. You see, about one half of the church did not think that a woman with a past such as hers was suitable to work with the children, or to be the wife of a pastor's son. The church began to argue and fight about the matter. So they decided to have a meeting. As the people made their arguments and tensions increased, the meeting was getting completely out hand. The young woman became very upset about all the things being brought up about her past. And she began to cry, then the pastor's son stood to speak. He could not bear the pain it was causing his wife, yet to be. As he stood, his statement was this: "My fiancée's past is not what is on trial here. What you are really questioning, is the ability of the blood of Jesus to wash away her sin. Today you are not accusing her, you are accusing the blood of Jesus and you have put it on trial. So, the real question is, does it blot out oursins or not? We are supposed to be a church who believes that the blood has never lost it’s power!” The whole church was stunned by the truth, and began to repent, as they realized that they had been slandering and diluting the power of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Praise God, He has clothed us with righteousness, holiness, anointing, spiritual armor, and put His Spirit within us! Demons can see you coming from a distance. When you show up in their territory, there is going to be trouble with a capital T!! I’m thinking as I share this, of the night in Pottstown Pa. when several of us went out witnessing on a Christmas eve. 6 lanes of traffic on main street, sidewalks packed with joyful, excited, folks. Music blasting, and snow falling... Christmas was in the air. I was 18 and I was leading a woman in the sinners prayer, underneath a street light when this loud screaming voice trumpeted out.....GET AWAY, STAY AWAY FROM ME... DON’T COME NEAR ME, STAY AWAY FROM ME.... Over and over.... I realized that he had recognized my covering!! He knew me in the spirit, His demons recognized my Jesus! I followed as he continued to yell out across 6 lanes of traffic. At the end of the block, he turned, I crossed the street, and followed. The next block, he stopped, just staring at me.... I was praying in the spirit, and binding his demons.... I walked right up to him and said, “Hi, I’m Chuck Elliott, what’s your name? He said Bobbie, as he looked like he was going to run any second.. I said Bobbie, I’m writing your name in my bible, and I’ll pray for you every night. God loves you, and Jesus died for your sins, so you could be His child. Just call on Him and He will make you His child. With that, he ran off into the darkness... I’m believing Bobbie found Jesus because he knew that he felt and saw and heard something that night. But I’ll never forget how Bobbie taught me to be sure that I stay under the Lord’s covering...And I knew that the demons were very aware of my covering. My trust is that Bobbie became very aware that he needed a covering that night...
When you have the covering on, you act different, you talk different, and you see differently....You’re blood stained....and blood restrained!
Animal blood from millennia of sacrifices could only go so far, God Himself, knew that the final sacrifice would require that He would have to offer His own blood to finish what was started in the Garden...
God Almighty took our place in the cruel blood letting of the pretrial beating, and the crucifixion,
and it has a name.....”Propitiation”....it means to take the place of another. In this case it would be to take the judgment of another....
In the Old Testament, during the feast of atonement two rams would be brought before the priest, lots would be cast to see which ram would be sacrificed. Then the priests hands, with blood still on them, from sacrificing the other ram would be placed on the head of the ram that was spared, and it would be released to go free into the wilderness...
You and I represent the blood stained ram that was released to go free.... Free Indeed, Free Indeed!....The blood has never lost it’s power!
When Jesus became the sacrifice, He set us free, and like the ram which the priest laid his bloody hands on, we are free when the blood is applied.....He chose to share the blood of freedom, even with His enemies, those who opposed him, and those who even crucified Him.....and of course the thief on the cross beside him.
Now, we are called upon to share the blood....The priest handled the blood, and we are the priesthood of believers, who receive the blood of Jesus and share it’s power, it’s freedom, it’s cleansing, and it’s authority with our world.
Hebrews 10:19 “Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body.”
But all that needed to be done, could not be accomplished completely on this earth. Just as the High priest sprinkled the blood of Jesus on the mercy seat in the Holy of Holies... Jesus sprinkled His blood on the Heavenly mercy seat, where nothing of this world could touch or effect it.
The completion of the blood sacrifice could not be finished in this world, but had to be consummated in the heavenly realms.
The blood is our password into the heavenly Holy of Holies!! We are given entrance through our eternal sacrifice....
By this we stand separate from the world and it’ssystem... by this we see and hear, and act, and feel and are motivated by the power that is in the blood. The blood has never lost it’s power!
This week I saw a news report about two injured and dying Hamas terrorist who were brought to a Jewish hospital in Israelwhere Jews and Palestinians work side by side. Both terroristwere badly injured, but one was bleeding to death. The medical teams rushed to the aid of the two men and the doctors concluded that the one insurgent would not survive unless they could find 30 pints of blood. A call went out throughout the facility for volunteer donors with the same blood type, and dozen’s of Jews and Palestinians lined up to give blood and the terrorist’s life was saved.
As I watched that report this week I could not help but think of what Jesus has done for us? Without a covering we were enemies of God yet there was only one blood that could save us and change us from enemies to children of God. Through God’s love Jesus gave every drop of his blood, to save us. The very ones whose sins placed Him on the cross, and took His life....
Hebrews 13:20-21 “Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with every good thing, that you may do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen”.
“Hear it again....Through His blood we are equipped with every good thing that we might do His will”.....
I want us all to notice how Jesus poured out His blood.... Jesus said that no man took His life, but He willingly laid it down. So I submit, that He was in control of how He poured out His blood....It was no accident!
The first blood that Jesus shed was in the garden when He prayed so intensely that His sweat turned to drops of blood....
We can claim this provision of the blood..... This means our work, our struggles, all the stress, the attacks of the enemy through exhaustion, things that try to overwhelm us, the things that stretch us and wear us out... and the various burdens we carry..... For God has promised....“The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” ... It’s all covered by the blood....
The second blood that Jesus shed was when they beat him with clubs, with their fists, and a cat of nine tails, that ripped the flesh from His bones, and laid open His back, chest, legs and thighs....Scripture says He was so disfigured, He was unrecognizable... This blood was for every time we’ve been abused, assaulted, persecuted, slandered, accused, brought low, treated unjustly, ganged up on, and torn down.... God has promised..”You yourselves have seen what I have done, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself”.. The blood has never lost it’s power....
The third blood that Jesus shed was when they pressed the crown of thorns into His brow, His temples, and around His head..... That blood was to cover our battles with depression, fear and terror, loss of memory, battles of the mind, intimidation, when we don’t understand, and when we feel like just giving up because we see no reason to carry on... God has promised “They that wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] Will gain new strength and renew their power; They will lift up their wings [and rise up close to God] like eagles”.......The blood has never lost it’spower.....
The fourth blood that Jesus shed was when they drove the nails into His feet.... that blood was to cover our walk when we’re walking and our run when we are running, it covers the times we stumble and we fail, and the times we lose our motivation and stop moving forward, it covers the times when we get knocked down and don’t feel like we can get up again... But God has promised...”we shall run and not be weary, we shall walk and not faint”! The Blood has never lost it’spower!
The fifth blood that Jesus poured out was when they drove the nails into His hands....
That blood was to cover all that our hands are stretched forth to do in spite of our limitations, when our hands are too weak to do even one more thing, when our hands are lifted in praise even though our heart is breaking....when we’re helping those who don’t want to be helped....when the enemy seems to triumph no matter how we try..... God has promised...”Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, and that which is lame shall not be turned away; but rather it shall be healed”. The blood has never lost it’s power!
The sixth blood that Jesus shed was when they pierced His side with the spear.... That blood came directly from His heart.... for every heart that is broken, for every dream that has been cut short, for every time it was like a dagger being thrust in your heart, for love that was untrustworthy, unfaithful, and hurt you deeply, for times of betrayal, disloyalty, abandonment, and rejection....God has promised to be “a friend who sticks closer than a brother. For greater love has no man than to lay down His life for a friend.” The blood has never lost it’s power!
We can only come to God on His terms, and His term is through the blood of Jesus.
Adam and Eve tried to produce their own covering, but it was not acceptable. What is acceptable, is what only God can provide!
Isaiah 53:5 “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way, and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all”.
I would suggest a little experiment for those who are always trying to come up with another way and avoidthe blood. Just stand in front of a wall, and convince yourself that it’s just mind over matter. Convince yourself that you can walk through the wall and then just walk forwards, towards the wall with your eyes firmly shut. You will find out, after a few bumps and bruises that itjust doesn’t work. Doing it your own way is frustrating, disappointing, useless, and a big waste of time. Many have tried to get through the wall of death, and avoid the blood of Jesus. But they find it is a grave mistake....
On the other hand you could just walk over to the door, and walk right through the wall. Millions have foundthis is a lot more effective!
John 14:14 “Let not your heart be troubled, you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father's house are many mansions, if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. 4 And where I go you know, and the way you know. 5 Thomas said unto him, Lord, we don’t know where you are going so how can we know the way? 6 Jesus said unto him, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man can come unto the Father, but by Me.”
I would like to have the singers come as we prepare to close....
Maybe you’ve been trying it your way... try the door, instead of the wall... The door is wide open today, all you need to do is enter in.....
We can rejoice today, that the blood has never lost it’spower
We can give Him praise, that the blood has never lost it’spower
We can give thanks, that the blood has never lost it’spower.
Song.... “It reaches to the highest mountain, and it flows thru the lowest valley. Oh the blood that gives me strength from day to day. It shall never lose It’s power....
