Power of the Blood of Jesus – Volume 06
Message Summary by AFT Team
For indeed Christ, our Passover was sacrificed for us. – 1 Corinthians 5:7
The Old Testament Passover was a shadow, whereas Christ, our Passover is the reality. We must realise that the blood of Jesus our Passover was shed ‘for us’ and that it can accomplish greater and mightier things ‘for us’ than the blood of the lamb accomplished for the Israelites.
But how can we make the blood work for us today? How do we apply it? What does it do for us in our everyday situations? We saw the mighty things that the blood of the Passover lamb did for the Israelites a few weeks ago. How can we take for ourselves the benefits that the Israelites derived from the blood of the Passover lamb?
SPRINKLE THE BLOOD
For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord. Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. – Exodus 12:12,13
The phrase ‘when I see the blood’ clearly denotes that the death would not approach them if the blood was visible; the killing of the lamb and the shedding of its blood were not enough, it had to be sprinkled upon their doorways. Similarly, the blood of us Jesus our Passover cannot save just because it was shed for us. We have to sprinkle it upon our heart. We have to sprinkle it in order to make is work for us. If we want the protection, guidance and love that the blood of the Passover lamb assured the Israelites of, we have to the sprinkle the blood of Jesus, just like the Israelites did.
How do we in modern times sprinkle the blood? We do so by speaking with our mouth. Let’s read this verse to know more about how to sprinkle the blood using our words. This verse is about how the saints of God overcame the devil.
Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death – Revelation 12:10,11
Overcome the Accuser
The devil is the accuser. He accuses day and night; he doesn’t take a holiday, he doesn’t take a break, he accuses continually. We see that in the life of Job. He goes to God and accuses Job. We see in that passage that God had not only blessed Job, but had also placed a hedge of protection around him. God places this protection around us because He knows that there is an enemy, an accuser who is waiting to attack us. The devil, on the other hand, wants to somehow create a security breach in this wall of protection that God has placed. He attempts to do so by constantly accusing us.
But this verse above teaches us how we can overcome the accuser – by (i) the blood of the lamb (ii) the word of God (iii) the word of their testimony. In simple words, they confessed with their mouth what the word of God says the blood of Jesus has done for them. Let’s look at the three parts of the phrase one by one. The blood of Jesus was shed 2000 years ago for the atonement of mankindWhat the blood of Jesus has accomplished for us is immeasurable. The blood has done its part. The word of God clearly teaches us what the blood has done and is continuing to do in our lives. The word is doing its work. The third part of the verse – the ‘word of our testimony’ is very important. It is the part we play in overcoming the accuser. We have to believe with our heart and speak with our mouth what the blood has done if we are to defeat the accuser, the devil.
THE BLOOD OF SPRINKLING
The sprinkling of the blood is so important that the Bible refers to the blood of Jesus as the “blood of sprinkling” in Hebrews 12:24. The context is that the author of the book of Hebrews is writing to Christian Jews (who were being ridiculed by the traditional Jews), about the superiority of Jesus Christ over Moses and Aaron, over the Old Testament rites and rituals of sacrifice and worship, the New Covenant over the Old Covenant and the blood of Jesus over the blood of animals. And while saying that, he refers to the blood of Jesus as the blood of sprinkling, because without sprinkling it, we cannot avail of what it has done. Without sprinkling, the blood of Jesus is of no use to us. If we do not apply it in our lives, it is of no use, no significance, and no benefit for us.
UNDERSTANDING THE LEGALITY OF OUR REDEMPTION
Pleading the blood is based on the legality of our redemption. The problem of sin was a legal problem that caused separation between a holy God and sinful man. The cross legally dealt with the issue of sin by paying the just atonement for sin. So pleading the blood of Jesus is based on the rights and privileges that the blood of Jesus has bought for us. To understand the word ‘pleading’, let us go to an incident in the lives of David and Saul. Saul accompanied by 3000 soldiers was chasing David with the intention of killing him. Saul unwittingly places himself right in the hands of David when he went to relieve himself in the very cave that David and his men were hiding in. David’s men urged him to kill Saul, but David refused to raise his hand against God’s anointed one, Saul. He just cuts off a piece of Saul’s robe stealthily. When Saul left the cave, David calls our to him and pleads his case. He tells Saul, “Why do you listen to the words of people who say, ‘Look, David intends to harm you’? He asks Saul not to believe his accusers. He shows Saul the piece of robe as evidence that he intended Saul no harm. And then he says, “Let the Lord be judge, and judge between you and me, and see and plead my case, and deliver me out of your hand.” He speaks the legality of his stand, he explains that his intentions towards Saul are not evil, he shows evidence, and then he leaves it to God to judge between them and to plead his case. That is how we also must plead the blood.
The evidence
When we plead the blood, we are going to God on the basis of the legality of our redemption. The blood of Jesus of Jesus has put us on the right side of justice. We must be shown mercy and favour, we must be protected and blessed, because of what the blood of Jesus has done for us. In a court of law, if the accused is not guilty, he needs a very important thing to prove that he is not guilty – evidence. The evidence is of utmost importance to prove your case. Hebrews 12:24 says But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel. Look at all those who are present in heaven – (i) God Himself, the judge of all (ii) innumerable angels (iii) all the saints (iv) Jesus, the mediator of the New Covenant (v) the blood of sprinkling. He says we are in Heaven itself; we have boldly entered the presence of God, where there are gathered saints, innumerable angels, the Almighty God and Jesus his Son. In the presence of all these wonderful people, what is the blood of Jesus doing; why is the blood of Jesus there? The blood of Jesus is present in heaven, because it is the evidence of our redemption. The blood of Jesus is the evidence of our redemption. We can go to God and plead our case on the basis of that evidence – that is what ‘pleading the blood’ is.
The evidence itself is no ordinary evidence. The blood of Jesus is evidence that speaks. It speaks better things that the blood of Abel. It proclaims the atonement of our sins. It proclaims the New Covenant.
When we plead the blood, we are simply taking what word says about the blood of Jesus and what it has done for us, to the presence of God. On the basis of that, we tell the devil to take his hands off us and get out of our lives. Every time we take what the word of God says concerning the blood and begin to speak it, confess it, proclaim it, and on its basis plead our case, it has to work because it’s legal. The law always works. While it may sometimes appear like it doesn’t work, if one kept persisting on the law, it eventually will do its work, and justice will be established. It is the same in Christian life. When you plead the blood, you are speaking in legal terms, you are speaking heaven’s law. Heaven itself cannot deny your request and hell cannot help but bow before you.
RESIST THE DEVIL
James 4:7 says Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Sometimes, Christians give the devil undue importance. The Bible simply tells us to resist from him and he will flee from us. The devil is like a dog that pretends to be scary. He will come barking and baring his teeth, and if you show fear and run, he will chase you. But the moment you stop running, turn around, look into his eyes and rebuke him, he will put his tail between his legs and slink away. Resist the devil just like Jesus did. Jesus resisted the devil by speaking the word. After Jesus had fasted for 40 days, the devil came to tempt him. Jesus resisted him all 3 times by quoting from the Old Testament.
The devil is an ever-persistent accuser. He will constantly attempt to attack you – in your mind, body and spirit. His most common method of attack is to weaken your mind. He will make you feel a sense of failure, disappointment, loneliness, depression, emptiness and frustration. The devil accuses you of old sins, he talks about how unworthy you are and how unfit you are to be a Christian. He will say that God will not hear your prayers. He will make you feel despondent, useless, and worthless, so that you stop praying, you stop reading the word of God, you stop going to church, and you stop being interested in the things of God. You might even start believing him and thinking that you are the worst sinner. The devil is a destroyer; he will destroy your peace of mind. He will give you fear and confusion. Fear is not of God. God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of love, power and sound mind. While teaching the series of Ephesians (in chapters 4 – 6), I have spoken much about how the devil attacks the mind and about spiritual warfare. The word of God is the sword of the spirit with which we must fight the devil. Use the word of God to resist the devil.
You must resist the devil by pleading the blood. Take the blood of Jesus your Passover that was shed for you 2000 years ago and apply it. Hebrews 10 says – you have the boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus. You are a child of God; the blood of Jesus enables you to enter boldly in God’s presence and receive His grace in your time of need. Open your mouth and proclaim what the word of says about the blood of Jesus. The word of God says that the blood of Jesus has washed your sins away, cleansed you, and made you whole. You are more than a conqueror through Christ Jesus. 1 John 3:8 says For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Jesus came for the very purpose of destroying the devil. And He has completed what He came for. The devil has been dealt with, it is finished. And Jesus has given us authority to trample over serpents and scorpions, over the powers of the devil. We must speak against every attack of the enemy. We must stand against it by speaking against it.
DO YOUR PART
Pleading the blood is a God-given resource. It gives us the legal right to stand in dominion over the work of the devil. We can use it like an attorney uses it in a court of law. God, the judge Himself is on your side. Jesus, your advocate is on your side. The evidence, the blood of Jesus that speaks good things for you is on your side. Satan, the accuser will always be the accuser. He is the one that is condemning you. The stand of these people are clear. The one remaining person in this scenario is you. What is your stand? What is your say? That will determine your life. Is your stand the same as God’s? Are your words going to align with what Jesus, your advocate and His blood, your evidence says? Or are your words going to accept what the devil the accuser says?
If you understand what the blood of Jesus has done for you, the word of your testimony will say what the word of God says the blood of Jesus has done. If you understand the blood of Jesus, your words will speak the same words as the word of God. And by that word of that testimony, you can overcome the devil. He is a loser; you are more than a conqueror.
Other links
- Watch the video of the whole message
- Start here with blog post of Volume 01
