The Victorious Power of the Blood

Dear Friend,

Whether it is bloodshed in the streets and in the classrooms, or families being ripped apart along with the fabric of democracy, everywhere we look we see the need for victory over the powers of darkness.

Revelation 12 explains why we are witnessing the grapes of wrath, which are more bitter than ever, now being harvested across the land. Revelation 12:12 (NIV) declares, “Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.” Revelation 12:17 (NIV) goes on to say that Satan makes war with the people of God, “who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus.”

This war is explained further in Ephesians 6:12 (NIV) where it says, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

One of the most effective weapons these powers of darkness use is fear. Because Jesus has defeated Satan we do not need to fear. “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:7 NIV). “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7 NIV).

Revelations 12:11 (NIV) tells us how to make Satan flee from us as he engages in all outward warfare to defeat and destroy us. Verse 11 says, “They triumphed over Him, by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.”

In order to understand the power of the blood, we need to go back to the first Passover. The tenth and final plague was about to strike Pharoah resulting in the death of the first born in the families of the Egyptians.

To keep the angel of death from striking their households, the Israelites were to take a lamb without blemish, kill it and put the blood of this lamb on the doorposts of their homes (Exodus 12).

Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes our sins. The testimony of our faith in Him is how we apply His shed blood to the doorposts of our lives. Now when Stan tries to kill us and throw us into hell he can’t. We can resist him through the shed blood of the Lamb (Jesus Christ) and the word of our testimony. We are not even afraid to die for we know that when we face death it is simply the door to eternal life with Christ.

In order to overcome Satan by the blood of the lamb, which is the shed blood of Jesus Christ, and the word of our testimony that He is Lord of our lives we must:

#1-Realize we need a Savior who shed His blood for us.

#2-Then we confess our sins and accept the fact that this Savior is Christ the Lord. This is followed by renouncing the works of darkness and breaking our partnership with Satan, through the power of the shed blood of Jesus Christ. This will take place as we submit to the Lordship of Christ and trust Him daily in spite of whatever obstacles Satan may throw at us.

#3-We will then daily grow in our faith as we read the Bible, pray without ceasing, and do the works of Christ, helping others rather than living for ourselves.

It was the power of God working through the blood when Christ died on the cross that opened the grave. Hebrews 13:20-21 (NIV) explains, “Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. ”

It is the power of the blood of Jesus Christ which cleanses us of all sin and makes it possible for us to have the fellowship with one another. 1 John 1:7 (NIV) says, “But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.”

This cleansing of sin, (Hebrews 10:19 NIV) allows us to, “have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place through the blood of Jesus.” Hebrews 10:22 (NIV) goes on to challenge us to “draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. ”

What a glorious privilege it is to draw closer to God with a sincere heart. This is possible because of the blood Jesus shed on the cross to set us free from the curse of sin. “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” (Ephesians 2:13 NIV)

May the Holy Spirit awaken within us the full power of the blood. This blood of the new covenant Jesus provides, gives us the right to draw near to God in the full assurance of faith.

It is this faith that we come into the presence of God for, “Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6 NIV)

No longer should we stand outside in unbelief. That is why I earnestly want to “Draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings,” It is the blood that Jesus shed on the cross which makes this possible and “cleanses us from a guilty conscience. ” (Hebrews 10:22 NIV) As Romans 8:1 (NIV) says, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

The reason that there is power in the blood of Christ is that Jesus’ death and resurrection cleanses us from all sins. It also destroys the power Satan had in our lives and provides a healing power that goes far beyond medical science. Isaiah 53:5 (NIV) says, “But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed. ”

When we read through the Bible, we discover the incredible tapestry of redemption resulting from the shedding of blood. In Genesis the hides of slaughtered animals cover Adam and Eve after they have sinned. On Mount Moriah God gives Abraham a ram to sacrifice as his son Isaac is spared. In Egypt it is the blood of the lamb on the doorposts of the Israelites which saves their first born. The blood red cord of the sacrificial animals in both the tabernacle and the temple cover the sins of the people and set the stage for John the Baptist who declared that Jesus is, “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29 NIV)

The writer of the Book of Hebrews explained that “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” (Hebrews 9:22 NIV). It is the shed blood of Jesus which provides this forgiveness for “it is impossible for the blood of the bulls and goats to take away the sins.” (Hebrews 10:9)

The blood on the cross of Jesus coming from His sacrificial dead on the cross is what brings redemption (Ephesians 1:7 NIV), sanctification (1 John 1:7 NIV), reconciliation (Colossians 1:19-20 NIV), and salvation (Revelations 5:9 NIV). You may not feel you are of much value to the world but you are priceless to God, so that, “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.” (1 Peter 1:18-19 NIV)

Prior to our redemption through the blood of Christ, which was shed on the cross we were hopefulness, helpless sinners on God’s death row. We were not redeemed by silver or gold but with the precious blood of Christ. He was that unblemished Lamb of God who was sacrificed on our behalf. Because of what Jesus did for us on the cross we are now joined to God and are at one with him in Christ.

The human body contains 10-12 pints of blood. The loss of even half that amount will cause a person to die. Blood is big business in America making up 2.69% of the exports in America, yet not a single pint of this blood can provide forgiveness for sin and redemption. Only the blood of Christ.

Satan knows this and that is why in spite of his most vicious assaults in the last days, he has to back off when believers overcome him by the blood of the lamb and the word of their testimony. The believers know personally the Resurrected Christ and do not fear death (Revelations 12:11 NIV).

As we receive the power of the saving blood of Jesus Christ and rely upon it we can learn how to live in a world that is increasingly violent. We believe the foundational truth that as the people of God we will overcome the devil, the world, and our fleshly desires through the blood shed by our Savior.

Christ’s blood alone is able to overcome Satan, who now can’t bring a charge against us because we have the word of our testimony resulting from our faith in Christ.

Preston Parish gave the following example to further illustrate how critical it is that we are a part of the Bride of Christ. “A number of years ago, a woman was in a sever car accident and almost bled to death. She received more than 10 units of blood as an effort to save her life. She did indeed survive and for years afterward, she was curious about who had donated the blood that saved her. She wanted to know her “savior’s” identity so she could thank him. When she learned her blood donor’s last name, she instantly recognized it. It was a man she had recently began dating. As it turned out, he had made donating blood his regular practice for years. When they subsequently married she took her blood donor as her groom!”

This story shows us what Christ has done for us through His death on the cross. When we repent and receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior we become the Bride of Christ. Our Testimony is that Jesus is our Bridegroom who gave His blood in order that we may be saved.

Satan knows his time is short. As Revelations 12:12 (NIV) states, Jesus is coming back for His bride. That is why it is so critical we use what time remains sharing the message concerning the saving power of the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In conclusion let us review the seven things that the blood of Christ does for us.

1. The first one as we have seen from I Peter 1:18-19 is that we have been redeemed or bought back from Satan who we were enslaved to as a result of our sins. This redemption was not with gold or silver but by the very Son of God, Jesus Christ who was without sin. Satan now has no authority over us. When he tries to confuse us, fill us with doubt or guilt we can declare, “Satan you are trespassing. I am now a child of God, and I command you through the authority of the shed blood of Jesus Christ to get your hands off me.” Remember in Revelation 12:11 we read, “They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.”

2. The blood that Jesus Christ shed for us on the cross provides the forgiveness of our sins. “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding” (Ephesians 1:7-8 NIV).

3. The blood of Christ provides justification for our sins. This means if we believe and accept the fact that the blood of Jesus was shed on the cross for our sins we are justified and declared not guilty. “Since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through Him!” (Romans 5:9 NIV). We don’t need to listen to the lies of Satan, that God’s wrath will come upon us. “Since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through Him!” (Romans 5:9). We don’t need to listen to the lies of Satan, that God’s wrath will come upon us. Because of the shed blood of Christ, we are no longer guilty of sin and have been saved from God’s anger and wrath as a result of sin.

4. The shed of blood of Jesus Christ gives believers the opportunity to be reconciled to God. God is a holy God who cannot be in the presence of sin. Because Jesus’ blood was shed on the cross, we have been redeemed, forgiven, justified and now able to come in the presence of God and be reconciled to Him.

“For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him (Christ), and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things. . . by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross” (Colossians 1:19-20). So, when Satan tries to stir up anxiety, frustration and distress in us we must put up that shield of faith and stand steadfast in the peace provided through the blood Jesus shed on the cross.

5. We are set apart as God’s holy people with a special purpose because of the shed blood of Jesus Christ. The message of the blood is a message concerning the Holiness of God and how His love made it possible for us to also become holy because our sins have been paid for through the blood of Jesus Christ which was shed on the cross. It’s a fact there is no other bases for salvation except through Jesus shed blood. “And so, Jesus also suffered outside the city gate, to sanctify the people by His own blood” (Hebrews 13:12).

6. In the midst of a sin-stricken world Christ’s blood provides on going purification for us. For that reason, it is important that we remain in fellowship with God and His people by reading the scriptures, praying, beholding the wonders of His creation and living in the light of the freedom from sin Jesus provides. “If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son, purifies us from all sin” (I John 1:7). This purification is the ongoing freedom that we have available to us daily through our resurrected Savior.

7. Because of the blood of Jesus Christ, a new and living way has opened up before us. Unprecedented opportunities to exist for us to share in word and deed the love of Jesus. The knowledge of the power and authority of the shed blood of Christ builds within us the confidence to overcome what may seem as insurmountable obstacles. “Since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body… let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith. . . Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:19-23).

Yours in Christ,

Larry Rice