Power in the Blood of Jesus
No subject is as relevant! No theme is as timely! No topic is more critical
than the STORY, of the POWER, IN THE BLOOD OF JESUS. This is the most important topic that anyone can have the privilege to address.
Someone may say “I have heard that story before,” but I submit to you, that you should hear it again and again because this is the greatest story ever told. It is greater than Aesop’s fables, which bring out moral truths. Greater than Aristotle’s Athenian Constitution which covers the history and politics of Athens up to 328 BC, or Plato’s Republic that strives to define the nature of justice. This story is more profound than Shakespeare’s almost fifty didactic works. More relevant than Mark Twain’s commentary on American life, is the story of the Power in the Blood of Jesus. This is the greatest story ever told.
Blood sacrifices have been practiced in many cultures and civilizations throughout history.
Native Americans Aymara, Incas and Aztec rituals involved blood sacrifices. North of the Rio Grande, many of the Natives practiced blood sacrifices.
Traditional Africa Traditional African religions and Egyptian religions employed blood sacrifices to appease their deities and obtain fruitful harvests.
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.
Blood Sacrifices
Some cultures also performed human sacrifices. The idea behind sacrifice was the surrender of life. Blood had to be drained. Sacrifice was the pouring out of life and because life is in blood, blood was shed. In many religions, the devotees often consumed sacrificial blood. In addition to prohibiting human sacrifices, God barred the Jewish nation from consuming animal sacrificial blood, because life is in the blood. Blood is life and life must be allowed to return to the God of the universe who gave it.
The First Blood Sacrifice
After humankind had sinned against God in the garden in Eden and was therefore condemned to die, God performed the first sacrifice and obtained animals’ hides and blood to cover the physical and spiritual nakedness of Adam and Eve.
God’s Covenant with the Jewish Nation required the shedding of blood through animal sacrifices. The lives of millions of animals surrendered under the Jewish blood covenant were presented to satisfy the demands of divine justice. However, the blood of bulls, goats, sheep and turtledoves failed to make a permanent, and acceptable transformation in the human condition. Humanity was steeped in sin. Humankind had sunken to the depths of degradation.
Isaiah the prophet looking through the eyes of divinity saw the human condition and exclaimed “the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.” (Isaiah 1:5-6)
God Hates Sin
Seeing the sinful condition of humankind, in Genesis 6:7… the Lord said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.”
In Psalm 5:4-6, the Psalmist writes, “For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee… thou hatest all workers of iniquity… the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.”
Proverbs 6:16-19 declares, “16 These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: 17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, 19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.”
Proverbs 15:8-9 says, “8 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord… 9 The way of the wicked is an abomination unto the Lord:”
Proverbs 21:27 says, “The sacrifice of the wicked is abomination: how much more, when he bringeth it with a wicked mind?”
In Isaiah 43:14, the Lord says, “… you have wearied me with your iniquities.”
In Zechariah 8:14 the prophet prophesied saying “And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbor; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith the Lord.”
God hates sin. Sin is repugnant to God. He is immaculate. He is righteous and dwells at the utmost height of glorious purity. His very nature resists and repels sin. However, this pure and holy God continually seeks a relationship with His human creation, but sin has separated humanity from their Creator. Sin separates us from God.
Isaiah 59:1,2 declares “Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.” Humanity was doomed and cut off, condemned and alienated from God for eternity. But blood was shed. Blood was shed from the foundation of the earth. Blood was shed in the mind of God. Blood was shed from the heart of God. Blood was shed for the lives of men and women. The Blood of Jesus has been shed, and in His Blood, there is power.
There is power in the Blood
1. Power to Redeem The word redeem means to buy back. We belong twice to God. We are His by creation and by redemption. The word redeem literally means to buy back. God created us but then He bought us back with the Blood of Jesus. We are Redeemed by His Blood. 1 Peter 1:18,19, says “We are not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, …. 19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:” Ephesians 1:7 declares that “…we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;”
Revelation 5:9 proclaims “… And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;”
We have been Redeemed by the Blood of Jesus.
There is power in the Blood of Jesus to Redeem.
2. Power to Justify The word justify means to declare righteous, to make just as if you had never sinned. God sees our sinful condition, convicts us of sin, finds us guilty and instead of pronouncing the sentence on us declares us righteous because of the Power in the Blood of Jesus.
We are Justified by His Blood. Romans 5:9… Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
There is power in the Blood to Redeem, Justify and to Sanctify.
3. Power to Sanctify The word sanctify means to purify, to cleanse to make holy, to consecrate and to dedicate to God. All of humanity was polluted, contaminated and defiled by sin. In the Jewish Temple there was a large basin called the Laver. The Jewish High Priest was required to wash his entire body in that Laver. This washing was symbolic of sanctification or cleansing and purification from the things of the world. The Bible identifies three agents of sanctification, namely: The Spirit of God, the Word of God and the Blood of Jesus. The Blood of Jesus was shed to cleanse humankind of the impurity of sin and to make us clean in God’s eyes.
Hebrews 13:12 “…. Wherefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate.”
There is Power in the Blood to Redeem, to Justify, to Sanctify, to give Peace and Reconcile.
4. Power to give Peace and Reconcile We have peace through the Blood of Jesus. The world is filled with turmoil and chaos. Natural disasters have thrown the planet into convulsions. Political instability, ethnic and racial unrest, military conflicts, trade wars, family disruptions and senseless violence. These problems can be solved by the Blood of Jesus. If every human being will accept the Prince of Peace, His blood will infuse our lives with His peace and thereby reconcile or bring Adam’s fallen race back into the right relationship and proper fellowship with God.
Colossians 1:20… He made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.
There is Power in the Blood to Redeem, to Justify, to Sanctify, to give Peace and Reconcile and Bring us near.
5. Power to bring us near to God Sin had separated humanity from the Holy God. There are many amazing attributes of God. Throughout the Book of Leviticus God says to Moses and the people of Israel, “Be holy, for I am Holy.” Our sinful condition kept us far away from God but the Power in the Blood of Jesus brings us near to God once more.
Ephesians 2:13… But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made new by the blood of Christ.
There is Power in the Blood to Redeem, to Justify, to Sanctify, to give Peace and Reconcile and to Bring us near and to Overcome or Win
6. Power to Overcome or Win No one wants to be a loser. Everyone likes to win. People win at sports, financial gain, court cases, political campaigns and wars. However, there is one battle no one can win by himself or herself and that is the battle over satan and sin. Only through the Power in the Blood of Jesus can we win this battle.
Revelation 12:11… And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony;
There is power in the Blood
There is Power in the Blood of Jesus to Redeem, Justify, Sanctify, give Peace, Reconcile, Bring us near and Overcome.
The Blood of Jesus Covers Sin
When an individual purpose in his or her heart to come to God in repentance and in faith, the very God of the heavens and the earth pours the red, ruby, rich, cleansing blood of Jesus upon that person’s immortal soul.
As a sea of white cover the snow-capped mountains of the Alps, the Rockies or the Pyrenees, so a sea of the red Blood of Jesus washes and covers the mountains of sinfulness of a life mired in shameful evil.
As a rooster crows at the dawn of the day with life and vitality, so a soul washed in the blood of Jesus makes her boast in the Lord.
As golden sunbeams burst upon the horizon on a morning after a stormy night, so the souls of humans rise with glorious delight when they are washed in the Blood of Jesus.
Blood was Shed
The night of despair and darkness is over, the morning of rejoicing has come,
because Blood has been shed.
Blood has been shed to make the vilest sinner clean.
Blood has been shed to destroy the perils and the pains of life.
Blood has been shed to wash away the filth, the slime and the squalor of sin.
Blood has been shed to rescue the sinner from the error of his way.
Blood has been shed to snatch the ungodly from slipping into the flames of hell-
fire. Blood has been shed to restore humanity to fellowship with God.
Blood has been shed to redeem you.
Blood has been shed to justify you.
Blood has been shed to sanctify you.
Blood has been shed to give you peace.
Blood has been shed to reconcile you.
Blood has been shed to bring you near to God.
Blood has been shed for you to overcome.
Blood has been shed, and there is power in that blood.
Power in the Blood
The Blood of Jesus has the power to cleanse the soul of the adulterer.
The Blood of Jesus has the power to change the lifestyle of lesbians, gays and
bisexuals.
The Blood of Jesus has the power to heal the heart of the prostitute.
The Blood of Jesus has power to save the gangster.
The Blood of Jesus has the power to save the human trafficker.
The Blood of Jesus has the power to transform the terrorist.
The Blood of Jesus has the power to melt the heart of the cold-blooded murderer.
The Blood of Jesus has the power to transform the thinking of the perverted mind.
The Blood of Jesus has the power to deliver the self- righteous.
The Blood of Jesus has the power to stop the drug addict from shooting up.
The Blood of Jesus has the power to stop the alcoholic from drinking up.
The Blood of Jesus has the power to stop the fornicator from shacking up.
The Blood of Jesus has the power to stop the suicide bomber from blowing up.
The Blood of Jesus has power.
This power is greater than nuclear power.
This power is greater than magnetic power.
This power is greater than electric power.
This power is greater than atomic power.
This power is greater than demonic power.
This power is greater than economic power.
This power is greater than disease power.
This power is greater than fear power.
This power is the Power that there is in the Blood of Jesus.
Jesus declared it when He said, in John 6:53-56: Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is meat indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He that eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, dwelleth in Me, and I in him.
Paul announced it when he said in Acts 20:28…. Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost, Christ, hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased the church with His own blood.
Paul proclaimed it when he said in Romans 3:24,25… Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 25 Whom God hath set forth to be a covering through faith in His blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
The writer to the Hebrews announced it when he wrote in Hebrews 9:13-14 … For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: 14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
John confirmed it and said in 1 John 1:7 … But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
An angel explained it in Revelation 7:14, saying … These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Revelation 12:11 … And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
The songwriter declared it when he wrote:
What can wash away my sins, nothing but the blood of Jesus.
What can make me whole again, nothing but the blood of Jesus.
The Blood of Jesus has power.
The Blood of Jesus has Saving power
The Blood of Jesus has Delivering power
The Blood of Jesus has Sanctifying power
The Blood of Jesus has Forgiving power
The Blood of Jesus has Transforming power
The Blood of Jesus has Healing power
The Blood of Jesus has Restoring power
The Blood of Jesus has Redeeming power
The Blood of Jesus has Justifying power
The Blood of Jesus has Reconciling power
THERE IS POWER IN THE BLOOD OF JESUS!
And my question to you is, are you washed in the blood, in the soul cleansing blood of Jesu?
Has your idolatry been washed away by the Blood of Jesus?
Has your hatred been washed away by the Blood of Jesus?
Has your lying been washed away by the Blood of Jesus?
Has your cheating been washed away by the Blood of Jesus?
Has your racism been washed away by the Blood of Jesus?
Has your back-stabbing been washed away by the Blood of Jesus?
Has your backbiting been washed away by the Blood of Jesus?
Has your gossiping been washed away by the Blood of Jesus?
And if it has not, I want to assure you that there is Power in the Blood of Jesus to wash these sins away.
It does not matter what kinds of sin you committed, God still loves you and wants to wash away your sins.
The Plan of Salvation
The Creation
The Bible tells us that God created the heavens and the earth and placed the first humans, Adam and Eve, in the Garden in Eden. These two people enjoyed sweet daily fellowship with God, one another, all the plants and animals in that perfect Edenic environment. The temperature was perfect they did not need clothing to protect them from the elements. God gave them one restriction and that was not to eat the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. If they ate that fruit God told them they would die.
The Fall
After some time, they were tempted by satan in the form of a serpent and their heart desired the fruit more than they desired God. The fruit became an idol to them and they longed for it. Eventually, they ate the fruit and fell into sin. Their lives changed immediately. They became subject to sickness, the environment became harsh with freezing cold, blistering heat, earthquakes, tornadoes and the animals turned violent and fierce. The bugs and insects became destructive and the ground grew thorns and thistles. Adam and Eve became mortal or doomed to die and worst of all their descendants (all of us) were separated from God because of their sin.
The Rescue
But thank God, He orchestrated a plan to rescue humanity from sin and from the fall. God first killed animals and covered the naked bodies of Adam and Eve. In doing so He shed the blood of the animals and that blood symbolized the Blood of Jesus, God’s Son, that would shed His Blood and die for all Adam and Eve’s descendants. So about 2,000 years ago in Israel, God sent His Only Son into the world. He was born miraculously to a Virgin woman named Mary and lived on earth for almost 33 years. At age 30, He began preaching and teaching the people of Israel of the Kingdom of God and of the love of God. Some believed Him but others did not and they killed Him by crucifying Him on a wooden cross. As He hung on that cross, suspended between heaven and earth, the Just dying for the unjust that He might bring us back to God, He freely gave His life for you and for me. There is no greater love than this that a man would give His life to save another. When Jesus died, God gave us His very best. In the Bible, these words are written: “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. There is none that does good, no not one. All we like sheep have gone astray we have turned, everyone, to our own ways. For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Jesus said “Come unto Me all you that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest…. Behold I stand at the door and knock if any man hears my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever (that means you and me) believes on Him, should not perish but have everlasting life.”
The Restoration
Humanity is like a person trapped in a quicksand pit and the harder she tries to get out the deeper down he goes. But God has sent His Son, Jesus, to rescue you from that pit called sin. The danger with continuing to live in sin is that it will drag you down into hell-fire where the flames are not quenched and the worms, that eat the bodies of those that are there, never die. To be rescued what you need to do is as easy as ABC.
A—Admit that you are a sinner and that you need God to save you from the power of sin and eternal damnation in the fires of hell.
B—Believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He died on the cross of Calvary in your place as a blood sacrifice.
C—Confess that you have accepted Jesus as your Savior and Lord.
God wants to save you or place you in the right relationship with Him. He wants to restore you to fellowship with Him. He wants to make you twice His child, by creation and redemption.
Dr. Wayne C Solomon
