SF, Stagecoach, NV
Dear Brothers & Sisters Around
The World,
Next Thursday,
I’ll let you choose what I share on the blog. Email me if you wish another Chapter
you’d like to read added, these are the 6 I have not shared with you. Chapters; 1) Myths – We Must
Get Past, 2) Renew Your Mind With Eyes That See, 5) Why Your Power Is Blocked,
9) God Says – Fear Not, 10) God Needs You, 12) Our Daily Path And
Attitude. Or any other topic you may
want, just email me. I can’t
guarantee it will get done by Sunday, but I’ll give you a good Scriptural
study, as soon as possible. Also, let me know if it helps you, when I add the full Scripture with the blog.
From Chapter 11 – Overcoming By His Blood and Our Testimony........Pages
181-193
We’ve talked about God’s
will for you. We’ve covered the various
reasons why the enemy attacks. We covered why the devil wants you to believe
you can’t be used by God. We’ve also
covered the four keys God’s given us to fight with. Now it’s time to see the power of His blood! Note: Some of these topics may be in the
Chapters I haven’t blogged above.
But before we do, let’s
define the word “overcome.”
Strong’s concordance says that the Greek word means
to conquer, prevail, and get victory. It
further says that to conquer, a Christian must hold fast to their faith, even
unto death, against the power of their foes, temptations, and persecutions. In other words, we can’t give up, no matter
what!
Hebrews 12:1-2 “Therefore,
since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also
lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily
entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is
set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and
perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross,
despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Revelation 12:10 “And I heard a loud voice in heaven,
saying, “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom
of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for
the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, who accuses them before our
God day and night.”
Revelation 12:11 “And they overcame him because of
the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their
testimony, and they did not love their life even to death.”
According to the scriptures
above, it took salvation, power, the kingdom
of God, and the authority of Christ
to throw satan out of Heaven. Many
people believe that we have to wait until we get to Heaven to receive all this,
but I want you to see that it starts now,
on earth, just like your faith.
Salvation became
available when Jesus arose from the dead.
The disciples received power as they walked with Christ. The kingdom
of God came to earth when Jesus
came in the flesh and gave us His authority.
[John 17:20, 22] 20 ‘I [Jesus] do not ask on behalf of
these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word;
... 22 “The glory which You have given Me I have given
to them, that they may be one, just as We are one;” Finally we’re able to live on earth, as it is
in Heaven, because Jesus already won and gave every born-again Christian the
right to the same power Jesus had. I repeat, satan has no power except what you allow. He can’t stop you from living a Godly and
peaceable life. All he is now is a rat,
a toothless bully that you can tell be gone. And he must do it -- in Jesus’ name!
Whew! And we complain about praying and reading our
Bible. Revelation 12:10 above explains
what God had to do, but Revelation 12:11
tells us our job.
The Blood Of The Lamb
Jesus Christ, who is
represented like a lamb in His meekness and innocence, was without blemish,
spot, or wrinkle. As you'll see below,
Jesus covered His blood over everything pertaining to our Life and Godliness. There is nothing you’ve done, or anything
you’ll do, that is not covered under the blood through a repentive heart –
for He’s always knocking at your door – if you’ll let Him in.
Matthew 27:25 “And all the people answered and said,
“His blood be on us and on our children!”
When Pilate couldn’t get
the people to free Jesus, an innocent man, the people said the blood will be on
them and their children. What a
prophetic Word! This means the atoning
blood of Christ would be available to them and any future children who accept
Jesus as Lord.
We all know that every
action has a reaction. When we act
ungodly, the devil is allowed to attack us without God’s intervention. When the blood is applied, the ungodly action
is forgiven in Heaven, canceling the twerp’s [satan’s] foothold on us. Redeemed by the blood is not just our
ultimate salvation, but our daily life.
We literally cancel the power of satan because Jesus was and is the final
atonement for our sin. [Jeremiah
31:34] "They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and
each man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they will all
know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them," declares the
LORD, "for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will
remember no more."
The Word Of Our Testimony
By telling others what
Jesus has done for you, you’re giving your testimony. By your testimony, you build your faith and
others, since faith comes by hearing.
People know you’re imperfect, yet in their mind, if Jesus did it for
you, He just might do it for them too!
So they ask Jesus into their life.
And, glory to God, the harvest is reaped as He opens the door to them. Amen!
Matthew 27:37 “And they put up above His head the
charge against Him which read, “THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.””
Malachi 3:16 “Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and
the Lord gave attention and heard
it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for
those who fear the Lord and who esteem His name.”
Revelation 20:12 “And I saw the dead, the great and the
small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another
book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were
judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their
deeds.”
In the end, at the cross,
it was proclaimed to one and all that Jesus is the King. When our words and actions align with His Word,
then we’ll act in the same way Jesus did speaking only what the Father
says. At that point, you are abiding in Him,
and His Word in you and you can have whatsoever you ask for.
For those of you who
still doubt the importance of every word we speak, read Malachi 3:13-18. Here it
tells Christians and Israelites that God’s listening to everything we say – Do
you realize that every word, good or bad, is being written down in Heaven in
the Book of Remembrance? Do you also
realize, that your words will be read back to you on the judgment day? Ouch!
I believe that when God
says, “He remembers no more” of our sins, it’s because they’re erased from the
Book of Remembrance. Thank God for
erasers! So I would exhort you to ask
forgiveness of any ungodly words you’ve spoken.
Most people only ask to be forgiven for their actions, or someone
else’s, but our words are just as important.
Not Love Their Life Even Unto Death
Yes, the Bible talks
about martyrs who will die for God. But
for the majority of us, I believe God is referring not to our expected deaths,
but to the importance of releasing the material things you have on earth,
including your life. He’s referring to
those who will focus on Him instead of the world till the end of their
days. As we read in Matthew 27:52-53 in Chapter 8 of
this book, death doesn’t mean the end of our existence, but the start of our
eternal life. Can you imagine the
reaction of the disciples when they saw Jesus before and after His
resurrection, then saw their Old Testament relatives resurrected? Boy, what a reunion that was! I can only imagine the conversations they had.
Paul wrote that it is
better he stays here and help others then for him to join God (Philippians 1:23-24). Heaven has been settled and the devil thrown
out. Hell has been settled and the rules
set in stone. The race to be won is here
on earth. The only battle left is between
those who will accept Jesus and go to Heaven, and those who will reject Him and
go to hell.
So to overcome, we’re to
place the blood of Christ over the situation we’re praying for. Then confess the Word in faith then Praise
Him and wait for the answer. We’re to
tell the world what Jesus has done for us.
Doing this will cause signs and wonders to follow us. Finally, we’re not to worry about what we
have on earth, but what we can do for Jesus next. This is how we’ll bring in the harvest for
Jesus.
The Power Of His Blood
Isaiah 53:4-5 “Surely our griefs
He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we
ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our
transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening
for our well being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.
Isaiah 53:6 “All of us like sheep have
gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all
To fall on Him.”
I must say, for as many
times as I’ve read these passages, I never realized the true meaning until I
looked up their meanings. To think, that
Jesus knew in advance everything that He would do. No wonder He asked the Father if this cup
could be taken from Him -- if it was God’s will. I cry when I think about the suffering He did
just for you and I to be forgiven and accepted.
The definitions below should help you to get a clearer picture of what
Jesus actually took on for just us.
In Strong’s concordance
it says...
Griefs = sickness, disease
Bore = took on
Sorrows = pain [physical and emotional]
Esteemed = thought
Stricken, smitten = beaten, scourged
Transgressions = sins, rebellion [known
sin]
Crushed = broken, contrite,
oppressed
Iniquities = sin, guilt, fault
[unknown sin]
Chastening = correction, discipline,
instruction
Scourging = stripes, hurt, wounds [skin is broken and bleeds]
We’ve all been taught
that Jesus shed His blood for us, as the final blood sacrifice. But there is so much more involved in the
story than that. To begin with, Jesus
did not just shed His blood once. He
bled for us seven times - God’s
perfect number. Remember in Chapter
6 when we talked about the importance of numbers? Well, hang on to your socks, because what the Holy Spirit showed me about
this not only changed the way I “put Christ in remembrance” through communion,
but also the way I understand the total authority He’s given us.
Did you know that Jesus
actually bled three times before the cross, three times on the cross, and once
after His death? And there is a specific
reason for each instance? Let me share
this revelation with you.
1) When Jesus was beaten, He bled.
Jesus
bled when the priests beat Him with their fists (Matthew 26:67, Mark 14:65, and Luke 22:63). He bled when the soldiers beat Jesus with
their hands (John 19:3).
Jesus accepted the
punishment we deserved for our sin and rebellion against God. First, Jesus was beaten by His family, the
chosen men of God. Then He was beaten by
the ungodly mockers and scoffers. So
Jesus literally took on the punishment of both the believers and non-believers
alike.
2) When the crown of thorns was put on His
head, he bled.
Jesus
bled when the soldiers put a crown of thorns on His head, to mock Him for being
a King (Matthew 27:29, Mark 15:17, John 19:2).
The Romans wore a crown
on their head; to represent a royal rank, a victory, or an honor given to great
champions. For Jesus, it represented His
kingdom, His headship, and His authority to be the head of the body of God.
3) When they scourged and whipped Him, He
bled.
When
Pilate’s soldiers beat Jesus unmercifully then whipped Him, before He went to
the cross (Matthew 27:26, Mark 15:15, Luke 23:22, John 19:1).
The
soldiers also used a reed to beat Him on the head (Matthew 27:30, Mark 15:19, John 19:3).
A scourging is when someone
is beaten so badly that they are not only bruised, but eventually their skin is
broken and bleeds. A whip is then used, first
causing welts on the body, until it tears the flesh open and the muscle is torn. These wounds were suffered by Jesus for our
punishment, so we could be forgiven our sins.
Only through all this, could
we be healed in mind, body, and spirit.
This is why it’s possible for us to claim “we have the mind of Christ”
in 1 Corinthians 2:16,
and in Isaiah 53:5 that we are
healed.
When we actively seek
Jesus, we learn the will of God and our minds become renewed. As we apply His Word, we become restored
until our bodies, souls, and spirits reflect our Lord and King Jesus.
1) When they nailed His left hand to the
cross, He bled.
In the
Old Testament [OT], the only way to get into Heaven was by the work of the
hands. By the blood covering Christ’s
hands the work is finished and we are now saved by his grace (John 20:25-27).
The nailing of Jesus’
hands represented our salvation in Psalms
9:16, which says, “In the work of his own hands the wicked
is snared.” Also, the left hand
represents the north as the right hand represents the south (1 Samuel 23:19).
So Christ covered, from the north to the south, all our wickedness in
His blood.
2) When they nailed his right hand to the
cross, He bled.
The
right hand also represents the symbol of power, strength, and honor. Psalms
60:5 shows how important Jesus’ right hand really was, “That Thy beloved may be delivered, Saved with Thy right hand,
and answer us!”
All our power and
authority is in Jesus, who sits at the right hand of God.
3) When they nailed His feet to the cross, He
bled.
The
feet represent our path and the direction we choose to follow (Proverbs 3:6, Hebrews 12:12-13).
Not only did Jesus atone
with His blood for the path we had followed, but also for the innocents we’d
hurt or led astray. Isaiah 59:7 says, “Their feet run to
evil, And they hasten to shed innocent blood;...”
When Jesus said, “It
is finished,” He spoke the completion of everything done to remove satan’s
power over us. He became the Lamb of
God who took away the sins of the world. Through His blood and testimony He is now our
intercessor in Heaven, which allows us into our Father’s presence.
1) When they pierced His side to be sure He
was dead, He bled.
Both
blood and water came out (John 19:34).
The spear had to go
through the side of Jesus, under His ribs.
Only there would they miss breaking a bone to fulfill prophesy.
On a woman that would
have been where the womb is located. This
is important because on this final time, Jesus shed His blood for the children
to come. By this all future generations
can freely choose where they will spend eternity.
Jesus shed His blood for
the past, present, and future all in one act.
This corresponds with the scripture that says He is the same
yesterday, today, and forever.
Oh, what His love for us
made him suffer for our transgressions! But the outcome allows Christians to overcome. Allowing restored fellowship between God and
man.
Whenever we look behind
us, we see what’s in the past. I believe
this truth is relevant to the message of the cross as well. Let’s consider the blood that Jesus shed three
times from behind Him.
Keep in mind that the
blood shed by the nails bled from both the entrance and exit wounds of Jesus’
hands and feet, and that the crown of thorns encircling His head also bled down
his front and back.
1) Headship:
Jesus gained authority over our minds with the crown of thorns.
Whatever
we did or thought before the cross should now be forgotten and behind
us. No longer will we be condemned by
God, once we soulfully accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. You’ve been cleansed!
Jesus
healed our minds with His blood that was shed when the soldiers put the crown
of thorns on His head.
2) Curses: The
blood from His back covered the wooden cross.
The
curse placed on mankind is removed.
No longer are we under the curse of sickness, disease, and bondage to the
flesh or the devil unless we allow it.
You
can see all the curses that are covered, along with all the blessings you can
now receive, in Deuteronomy 28. What a reason to rejoice in the Lord. We’ve been delivered! Galatians 3:13-14 “Christ
redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse
for us--for it is written, "CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE"--
14 in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come
to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through
faith.”
3) Path: The old
ways we followed are under the blood along with the nails in His feet.
Now that
we can claim our path and journey directed by God (Proverbs 3:6).
Nothing in your past should haunt you because it’s under the blood of
Christ. It’s forgiven, done, and no
longer remembered by God. Romans 8:3-4 3 “For what the
Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh,
God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an
offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 so that the
requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to
the flesh but according to the Spirit.”
The same principle that
applies to our past also applies to our future.
The blood Jesus shed four times from the front represents how we are to
go forward in Christ. His blood frees us
from the past and opens the door to a new gospel of peace, restoration, and
abundant life...
1) His head: Jesus is the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings! He’s given us the authority and power to
overcome this world in His name. We’re
to take His gospel to the entire world and preach His Kingdom using His power. Mark 16:17-18 17 "These signs will
accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast
out demons, they will speak with new tongues; 18 they
will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it
will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they
will recover." Praise the
Lord!
2) His hands: No more working for our Salvation, as the Old
Testament Israelites had to do. Salvation
has been given to us through Christ. Now
the work that we do, must be to perfect our faith, continue the work of Jesus,
just as He did thereby revealing Christ within us to the world. With the fruit of the Spirit and the signs
and wonders that follow us, we will overcome this world!
3) His Feet: The paths that we follow are no longer
controlled by the devil, but directed by God.
Ephesians 6:15
says it best, that we are now blessed in “…having
shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace.” Our lives can now follow the path of
righteousness to magnify our Lord, Jesus Christ.
4) His Side: Many of us, like sheep will go astray. So we need to continually apply the blood. It’s our redemption over the earthly pitfalls. God knew we would fall as we practiced His
ways, so He provided a way for us to repent and daily put our sin to death with
the blood of Christ. Each generation, as
they hear the Word, will need the blood so they too can have the opportunity to
freely accept or reject Jesus Christ as their Savior.
Luke 24:30-31 “And it came about that when He had
reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and
blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them. And their eyes were opened and they
recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight.”
We’re told to remember
Jesus. Why? So our eyes can be opened and Jesus
revealed. How? By partaking of communion with Him, you don’t
need to have it once a month at church, YOU ARE His priests and kings so have it often at home. The bread will remind you of what His body
suffered so that you don’t have to wonder why, did He do what He did. The wine will remind you that His blood
covers all our sin, and that forgiveness is there for the asking.
Jesus completed
everything, when He gave His Blood [His death], - it finished all He was sent
to accomplish. Now we need to
continue His works here on earth until He comes back.
Judge yourselves. Ask for forgiveness of your sin and place it
under the blood. If you don’t, we’re told that we’ll become weak, sick, and fall
asleep [leave our body]. Finally we’re
told to eat and drink often, to proclaim the Lord’s death and resurrection
until He comes 1 Corinthians
11:24-34).
I hope that the next time
you take communion you’ll have a better understanding of what He really
accomplished for you. The new covenant
offered by Jesus’ sacrifice is more than just words, or Him on the cross. It’s knowing and believing that we have a better
way to live in Him.
So claim those
promises for yourself and others. Take
your problems to the cross and pour His blood over them. Once the sin is removed, then the blessings
of healing, restoration, and peace can come.
It’s truly the only way to daily overcome this world and the evil within.
One last thing I would
mention, when I loose my peace or joy, I remind myself of Proverbs 3:5-6 and
that usually restores my peace and joy because I’m reminded 5 “Trust
in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own
understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your
paths straight.”
Is
Jesus Your Lord?
Romans 10:9-10 “that if you confess with your mouth
Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised
Him from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the
heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and
with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”
Those who know Jesus - know
Him. Those who don’t, think they have
time. But what they don’t realize is that
if you haven’t chosen Jesus, you automatically belong to satan. Despite what Hollywood
or others may say – THIS IS THE TRUTH!
This is not something to
play games with. There are only two ways
you can spend eternity. You are either
on one side or the other. So don’t let
satan have you by default.
For those who have
accepted Jesus, but your life has not resulted in righteousness you should ask
God for forgiveness and re-commit yourself to fellowship with Him.
Your heart must believe
and your inner man must accept and receive that Jesus is Lord. The proof of your belief is in your walk, not
just your talk. Jesus said that if you
reject Him, He’ll reject you (Hosea
4:6). Every time you knowingly
make a decision that is ungodly, you reject God. You cannot abide in Him, if you’re living
with your finger in Heaven, and the rest of your body is in the world. Again,
you may want to repent.
For years I was told to
believe in “once saved, always saved.” But
I’ve found too many scriptures that dispute this. Throughout the scripture it says that if you
are walking in the world, then you belong to the world. That means you’ve rejected God and no longer
(or never did) belong to Him. So choose
today whom you will accept and whom you will reject. Don’t let the enemy deceive you, there is only
one way to Heaven and that’s thru the Son of God!
If you haven’t chosen
Jesus, do it now - this very minute. Simply ask Him into your heart and repent of
your past sins. Just say this little
prayer…
Father,
in Jesus name I come before you. I come
to You as I am - a sinner. I accept
Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I accept
that Jesus was born sinless of a virgin and that He suffered, died and arose
for my Salvation.
I
repent of my sins and ask that You forgive me.
You know the doubt, fear, and hurt within me. Please help me to lay it at the cross by
faith. At this moment, I ask You to come
into my heart and deliver me by Your grace and mercy.
I
also ask to receive the infilling of the Holy Spirit and be baptized. That I might serve You in this harvest until You
come. I
thank You in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Let me be the first to
welcome you into the family. You’ve just
become a priest, a child of God, and the sister or brother of Christ, anointed
with the Holy Spirit [1 Peter 2:9 ] "But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;" Find a church to
fellowship with and be baptized in water (1
John 5:4-8). Seek God in His Word
daily. He promises to show you the way. I would also recommend you re-read this book,
one chapter at a time to help you start your new walk in the Lord.
Blessings to all
who read the blog and keep the Faith being AMAZED of how much more He has for
you, as you seek new goals for 2018. I promise you, there is so much
more the Holy Spirit wants to reveal to you thru His Word. I pray for
ALL of you nightly.
Sandy F. – The Lord’s Servant
