Psalm 119:9-16

This week we continue looking at what David writes in Psalm 119. It starts with the most critical question we all need to ask. How can a young man keep his way clean? We all have sinned and fallen short of God's glory - Rom 3:23. God is a holy God, and if we want to represent Him in any way, we must start with sanctification and purity. We know that all men have failed to be holy or pure and that our best efforts are just filthy rags compared to His righteousness. Thank God that He never left it up to us but that He made the way. David is going to give us the answer.

Psa. 119:9  How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your Word.

Psa. 119:10  With my whole heart, I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!

Many people have struggled to live a surrendered life or a life that speaks of someone that wholeheartedly follows the Lord. David says of his own decision to commit to following God that he will do it without withholding one bit for his own desires. Surrendered people, not committed people, are the mark of our walk in the Kingdom. Jesus clearly states that if we don't take up our cross and follow Him, we are not worthy of the Kingdom.

Psa. 119:11  Your Word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.

Psa. 119:12  Blessed are You, O LORD! Teach me Your statutes.

The next secret that David shares with us is that he has hidden God's Word in his heart. How does that happen? In the Old Covenant, they did not have God's Word written on their hearts - Deut 6:4-6. That was a promise for the New Covenant - Jer 31:31-34. David lived lightyears ahead of his generation. Later in this Psalm, he says: "I will meditate on your precepts." The vital thing to see is that hiding God's Word in your heart helps you to not sin against God. That is the blessing that he asks for even more: Teach me Your statutes.

The Word for "teach" is also the Word for a goad or prod. It was a long stick with a sharp hook that farmers used with their animals. When the sheep would run off, the shepherd would grab him and pull him back. With cattle is it was used to prod or poke them. The point was sharp and would hurt them and get their attention. Much like spurs on a cowboy boot. In essence, Davis is saying: Lord use what you need to teach me. Even if it is painful some days, I know that you have a good heart and good plans for me. David says in Psalm 119:68 You are good and doeth good, teach me your statutes. 

Psa. 119:13  With my lips, I have declared all the judgments of Your mouth.

Psa. 119:14  I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, As much as in all riches.

Solomon describes the value of wisdom in the book of Proverbs. Interesting is what Solomon says about how his father David taught him. 

Prov. 4:3-5 When I was my father's son, Tender and the only one in the sight of my mother, He also taught me, and said to me: "Let your heart retain my words; Keep my commands, and live. Get wisdom! Get understanding. Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth.

Here we see that David speaks the truth about how he shared the Word of God that he meditated on with his children. The wisdom David gained by staying in the Word of God was more valuable than all the riches. Riches will be spent and lost and will perish, but the Word of God remains forever - Matt 24:35, Isaiah 40:8, 1 Pet 1:25.

Psa. 119:15  I will meditate on Your precepts,

And contemplate Your ways.

Psa. 119:16  I will delight myself in Your statutes;

I will not forget Your Word.

Lastly, David is telling us the key to getting the most from God's Word. It is more than reading. It is more than five minutes here and five minutes there. He meditates on God's Word. The meaning of the word is like a cow that is chewing the gut. The first time the cow ate the grass, it got some of the nutrients. Now the cow regurgitates the grass and chews on it to get every bit of nutrient from the grass before swallowing it. We don't get what we need from the Word of God by just glancing over it. We must chew on it until we have received the meaning of the words and the Spirit of the Words. Jesus said that the words He speaks are Spirit and is Life - John 6:63. Timothy says that all scripture is God-breathed - 2 Tim 3:16. Stay in the Word long enough for God to breath on you. Get the Spirit of what God is saying. That is what will change your life and burn into your heart.

In close, David is giving us steps to understand the Word of God. Seek God with your whole heart, hide His Word in your heart, value His Word more than gold, and lastly, meditate on His Word day and night. 

Psalm 119:1-8

This week we start with looking at Psalm 119. We will spend the next few weeks looking and learning what David says about God's Word.

This study will take a few weeks as the Hebrew alphabetical order numbers 22 sections in this Psalm. 

This week we start with the letter A or Aleph as it is known in Hebrew. The Aleph is not just the first letter, but it also represents priority, a beginning, singleness, and strength. In the ancient writings, it also expressed or represented an ox. An Ox represented strength and prosperity.

I love how David starts this Psalm. He uses the word "Blessed." He repeats the Word in the first two verses, which signifies that it is essential and established. The whole of Psalm 119 will deal with the blessing that comes when we read, meditate, and obey His Word. 

Psa. 119:1 Blessed are the undefiled in the way, Who walk in the law of the LORD!

Psa. 119:2 Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, Who seek Him with the whole heart!

I wonder if David meditated on what God told Abraham. Abraham was 99 years old when God told him:

Gen. 17:1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless.

Abraham did not have the Law as David did. He walked by faith. God spoke to him directly, and God called Abraham a friend.

James 2:23 23 And the Scripture was fulfilled that says: Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him as righteousness," and he was called a friend of God.

Next, David tells us what possibility lies ahead for those that stay in the Word of God and keep His precepts. 

Psa. 119:3 They also do no iniquity; They walk in His ways.

Psa. 119:4 You have commanded us, To keep Your precepts diligently.

The truth of the matter is - the more of the Word you have in you, the less you will want to sin or sin. The reason is that the Word of God helps us to discern between what brings life and what brings death. Every temptation Jesus faced, he overcame with: "It is written." 

David prays a very personal prayer here!

Psa. 119:5 Oh, that my ways were directed to keep Your statutes!

Psa. 119:6 Then I would not be ashamed when I look into all Your commandments.

I believe David understood that our natural tendency is to do our own thing and have our own way. That has always led to us missing what God has for us. From the moment that Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, we have the desire and the motivation to follow our own heart and not the heart of God. Our ways have been tainted with the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life.

Lord, give us strength to walk in your way. There is the broad way and the narrow way. Jesus said that many will walk on the broad way that only leads to destruction - Matt 7:13-14.

Lastly, we see David address the real issue we all have. Our heart. Jesus said that we honor him with our lips, but our hearts are far from Him - Matt 15:8. Lipservice is all we give. What changes our hearts is His righteous judgments.

Psa. 119:7 I will praise You with uprightness of heart when I learn Your righteous judgments.

Psa. 119:8 I will keep Your statutes; Oh, do not forsake me utterly!

At the beginning of these eight verses, David says: Blessed are those that seek Him with their whole heart. Here he concludes that we can walk in the uprightness of our heart and when we learn His righteous judgments. To end, David asks again: Do not forsake me.

The Word of God, His Law, Testimonies, Precepts, Statutes, Commandments, and His Judgments are all the things that David mentions. It is what God's Word is. 

You can never go wrong if you meditate on this day and night. 

Justification, Sanctification and Glorification.

Rom. 3:24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

Justification happens because Jesus laid down His life for the sin of all humanity. Without His sacrifice, no man would have the opportunity to be justified because they believed in Jesus and His finished work on the cross.

Rom. 3:26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

How do we explain Justification? First, we must understand what Jesus did. The shed blood of Jesus made the remissions of all our sins possible - Matt 26:28. Sin had a severe penalty and consequence for man. The wages of sin is death - Rom 6:23. God made Jesus, who knew no sin or who never sinned, to be our substitute and receive the penalty for our sin.

On the other hand, we do not get what we deserved, but we get free instead. Instead of the penalty, we received the righteousness of God - 2 Cor 5:21. Not only does God remove the penalty of sin, but He also removes the consequences of our sin. Instead of eternal separation, we get to spend eternity with God.

JUSTIFICATION - GOD REMOVES THE PENALTY OF SIN!

Sanctification. 

Sanctification comes after and because of Justification. 

1Cor. 1:30 But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.

Sanctification is our walk to holiness. First of all, Jesus sanctified us and made us holy. 

Heb. 2:11 For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren,

Sanctification is a work of the Holy Spirit in us. Before our salvation, we had no desire to live holy. Our natural desires ruled us, and we only knew how to live to satisfy our flesh and our fallen nature. It changed when you got born again. You became a new creation with a new nature. The Holy Spirit and the Word now influence you that he writes on your heart, and not just your flesh. 

2Pet. 1:4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

Sanctification means that sin no longer rules and that you get to choose holiness instead. If you are born again, your natural desire should be to sin no more. Jesus came to destroy the devil's works, and the devil's works are to sin as it was from the beginning - 1 John 3:8. 

As children of God, we have a great promise. When He comes back, we will be like Him. That alone motivates us to live a sanctified life. 

1John 3:2-3 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

Justification removes the penalty for sin. 

SANCTIFICATION REMOVES THE INFLUENCE OF SIN.

Glorification.

Rom. 8:30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

We have been justified, we have been sanctified, and we are being glorified. Just as we have to walk out our sanctification on earth, we will experience the fulness of this glorification in eternity. That does not mean we cannot share some of that in this life. Let's first see what glorification entails. 

For most people, it means something in the afterlife. The glory of God is His splendor, His power and ability, His essence, and His being. I am not taking anything away from that, but I want to add something. The glory of God also means that it is a place where there is no presence of sin. Sin does not exist in God's presence. What a glorious idea that we will live without the presence of sin one day, but what about today?

We are seated with Him in heavenly places - Eph 2:6. What about Rom 8:1 that states that there is no condemnation for us who are in Christ Jesus, who walk according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh. Where there is no sin, there is no condemnation. In Christ, we have a place free from the presence of sin. In Him, we live and move and have our being - Acts 17:28.

What does that mean for us? I fully believe we can experience glory in a tiny portion by staying in Him, seeking Him, and finding the secret place of the Most High - Ps 91:1. 

GLORIFICATION REMOVES THE PRESENCE OF SIN.

Justification - free from the penalty of sin.

Sanctification - free from the influence of sin.

Glorification - free from the presence of sin.

The Divine Delay.

Have you ever prayed and expected God to show up, and He did not? Do you have promises or prophetic words that have not come to pass yet? You are experiencing a divine delay. Before you step into unbelief or start questioning either God's goodness or His integrity, please consider this.

I was rereading the story of Lazarus in my quiet time. I have read it so often, and every time I read it, I tend to learn something new from it. In the story, something very profound happens right in the beginning. Lazarus is dying, and his sister sends someone to go and tell Jesus. They come to Jesus and says: "Jesus, the one whom you love is sick." 

Yet, in this story, we see Jesus doing something strange. He waits two more days before He decides to go and see Lazarus.

John 11:6 So when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was. (Jerusalem)

You would think that it is not so bad. We have had things to do, and we had to prioritize some things sometimes. When Jesus finally left to go and see Lazarus, he found that Lazarus had been dead for four days already. Bethany was only two miles away from Jerusalem - John 11:18. That means that when they told Jesus about Lazarus, he was already dead for two days because Jesus waited two more days. Did Jesus know that he was dead already? This is how Jesus responded when they told Him about Lazarus.

John 11:4 When Jesus heard that, He said: "This sickness is not unto death but for the Glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified through it."

Why did Jesus wait? The response he gets from both Mary and Martha when He shows up in Bethany was typical of most of us. "If you were here, this would not have happened." It is a statement of faith but also of frustration. Have you ever been frustrated with faith? You believed, but God did not show up when you needed Him most. God, where were you when my child needed you? God, where were you when my husband needed you? Why was there a delay this time?

The divine delay happens quite often in scripture. Think about Noah. God commanded him to build an ark. It took 120 years to complete. What happened during that time? We know Noah was a preacher of righteousness during that time. 

2Pet. 2:5 and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly;

How do I know it was a divine delay? God was longsuffering and waited for the people to repent before He sent the flood.

1 Pet 3:20 who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.

What about Abraham and Sarah. Abraham was 75 years old when God promised him a son. Isaac was not born until he was 100 years old. Why the delay? During that time of waiting, Abraham would father another son, Ismael, a son through his own strength. God waited until Abraham could not produce out of his own strength anymore before God showed up to give him the promise - Rom 4:19-20.

The man at the pool of Bethesda in John five waited 38 years, seeing someone getting healed every time the Angel of God stirred the water. It almost seemed as if his fate was sealed. Then Jesus shows up. You have to think that he believed that something would happen for him sooner.

What about the three Hebrew men and the fire in Daniel chapter 2. I am sure they thought God could prevent it from happening. "God, just show up when we need you, please?" Alas, it did not occur on their timeline —another divine delay.

Think about Daniel and the Lion's den. What about the 4000 years roughly from the time God gave Eve the promise that she will bear a seed, the messiah that would crush satans head. Why such a long delay?

In John chapter 2, we see a wedding, and Jesus is there. They run out of wine, and they tell Jesus. His response is excellent. "It is not my time yet." There is a time when God moves, and it was not time to make water into wine yet. Mary, his mother, responded by saying: "Do whatever he tells you to do." There is a primary key in what Mary says. Do what He tells you to do.

Are you experiencing a divine delay right now? Do what he told you to do. Please stop trying to figure it out and step back into obedience. Some of you want a financial breakthrough, but you have not given what He asked you to give. Some of you want to see a change in your family or your children, but you have not stopped talking negatively about them. Some of you want to see your promise fulfilled, but you have not stopped telling God how you want it done. 

When someone is busy drowning, the guard will allow the swimmer to struggle until they are tired. If he gets there too soon, the person will grab him and pull him under as well. Once the swimmer is exhausted, they will help them not to drown. Stop struggling and surrender to His plan, and the divine delay will stop.

He is Risen!

Death, where is your sting?

Read 1 Cor 15:1-57. 

We just celebrated Easter weekend. It is about the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I love it when you read through the book of Acts; the number one thing that caused the Apostles to be persecuted was the message of Jesus' Resurrection. The enemy hates the message of Jesus' victory. 

Rev 1:18 I am He who lives and was dead and behold I am alive and live forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of hell and death. 

This scripture made me think about what it must have been to be hell and death. Both hell and death are cast into the lake of fire in Rev 20:14. Death had all that power over men from the beginning of time when Adam and Eve sinned. Sin gave power to death because we all sinned, and death claimed man's natural life as a reward. Death ruled as if he was a king that will never be dethroned. Sin preyed on man's weakness and the power of fleshly desires. Hell was satisfied to keep men away from God's presence. It looked like these two had the perfect combination with sin as their weapon and would forever be a force to be reckoned with. They had the keys that would strike fear into every man and woman born into this world. They made one mistake by miscalculating that God had a plan.

Jesus is the plan of God. There is no plan B. Can you imagine with me what happened when Jesus died? Scripture says that Jesus spends three days in death and then was raised again. During that time, He preached the Gospel even to those in the place of death with Him - 1 Pet 4:6. I wonder what the conversation between Jesus, death, and hell was like"

Death: "Hell, you know that I have the power to take a man's life from him and give him over to you to keep them in the realm of death."

Hell: "Yes, death, You are powerful in that sense. Will you get this Jesus as well? He has been causing havoc in my kingdom."

Death: "He is human, isn't he? All human beings are subject to my call because, in Adam, they all sinned. Do I need to remind you that I was there the day God told Adam that all humans would return to the earth when they died? I have an assignment, and I can not fail."

Hell: "I understand but do you realize that this Jesus is not the first Adam? I saw Him call a man out of a tomb, and I saw Him raise a dead girl from a stretcher. I saw you cringe when His word had more power than your assignment, and I saw your disappointment when you could not hold them anymore. Even I tried to keep them in the place of death, but His Words, His words are more powerful than both of us."

Death: "Yes, hell. That is true but don't forget that even though He raised them, they will die again. The ones whom He raised are only a temporary setback for us. I have a plan. When I kill Him, all those who believe in Him right now will have to doubt His word and what He said about being the way, the truth, and the life."

Hell: "Death, it sounds like you gave this some thought. If you kill Him, then I would be in your debt for a long time. They have Him on the cross right now; maybe it is time for you to go and do your thing."

Death arrives at the cross while hell is waiting in anticipation:

Death: Jesus, your time has come. It is time for me to kill you and make you see how much power sin has given to me. Are there any last words you would like to say?"

Jesus: "Father, forgive them. They don't know what they do. Into your hands, I commit my spirit." 

Jesus breaths His last breath.

Death: "Wait, hold on, you can't give it up, I am to take it from you. That is not how I planned this to happen. Jesus, you cannot forgive them that gave me the power through their sin."

Jesus: "Death, What sin? The blood just reconciled man with God. The Father has given me the power to forgive sins. Their sins killed them, but I have never sinned, and because of having no wrong, you have no control over me. I lay my life down, and I take it up again. No man takes my life from me."

Death: "Jesus, you are indeed dead, but I did not kill you. How is that possible?"

Jesus: "Death, I once was dead, but now I live forever. Your time is up. The Father has me now like He will have everyone who dies in Me after this day. From now on, you can kill the flesh, but you can no longer keep a man in the place of death. Because I am life, I will give the life I AM to men and women, and they will live, even if they died in the flesh. More than that, When I rise in three days, the life that I AM will live in both men and women before they die physically, and they will know and experience what it is to have no fear of you anymore."

Death: "Hell, why are you so quiet? Say something!"

Hell: "Death, I don't know what happened. One moment I was watching you, and the next moment, I was powerless to do anything. I lost the battle to keep people here. They are leaving in scores saying something about resurrection life. I have never experienced this. I thought we had this planned out, but we made a mistake. We have lost the battle, and Jesus is the King. Nothing can stop Him now!"

He has risen. He lives forever to make intercession on our behalf with the Father. Our sins have been forgiven, and death has lost its power over us. Though we die, yet we shall live. Death, where is your sting?

Fight the good fight.

There are two ways to wrestle.

We all have something we are fighting. Each day has its different challenges. What are you wrestling with right now? Some of our struggles are self-made, and some are not. Sadly most people will believe all their struggles are just bad.

If you would ask the average Christian about spiritual warfare, the very first verse they will refer to is this one in Ephesians 6.

Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

People can recount many stories where they had to" wrestle" against the enemy. One time I ask an elder at church about his week, and his reply was: Pastor, "I had the devil on my back all week."

I wanted to ask: who decided that it was okay to piggyback the enemy or even give him that much space in your life? He didn't like my answer a bit as I replied: "That is fantastic because if he is on your back, he is not on mine."

The word "wrestle" in Greek means: "to throw out or away." The same action when you throw trash out or away.

When I throw the trash out, it doesn't fight me. But what about the enemy. If I want to act like a bouncer, the enemy will engage me. You are not a spiritual bouncer trying to clear a nightclub. You have the authority of the name of Jesus. 

Engaging in this kind of wrestling match is not what we are called to do. Jesus already came and overcame the enemy. All we have to do is to take a stand against him. 

Jam 4:17. Submit to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 

The second kind of wrestling you can engage in can be found in:

Gen 32:24-26. And Jacob was left alone, and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. And he(Angel) said, Let me go, for the day is breaking. And he(Jacob) said I will not let you go, except thou bless me.

Here we see Jacob wrestle with God. This kind of wrestling is different than the one we previously talked about. Why do we need to wrestle with God? A few things happened with Jacob when he wrestled God:

First, we see that they wrestled until the breaking of the new day. This incident is very significant. God will not leave us halfway through our darkest hours. He will stay with us until something new breaks through. If you feel like you are still in a wrestling match, keep going because the new thing God wants to do for you has not come yet. Once your new day breakthrough, you will have something new to celebrate. Too many times, we give up halfway through the night.

Secondly, we see Jacob asking God to bless him. You have a blessing in your struggle waiting for you. Just ask for it. I love how Jacob kept fighting until he got it. Your yesterday might have been known by fear and rejection. Your yesterday might have been known by wandering and seeking. Like Jacob, you were carrying the curse of your past decisions but God is about to change your curse to a blessing. The wrestling was not just to expose the complicated things but also to expose and inherit a blessing.

Thirdly we see that Angel saying to Jacob that his name will be changed. No longer will you be Jacob – supplanter/cheater – but now you will be known as one that has power with God. In your time of wrestling, God speaks new things over you. In these challenging times, He chooses to say the things that will make your enemy wonder. 

Lastly, I believe God wrestles with us because he wants to deliver us from our hang-ups. We all have them. When God struck Jacob's thigh, he walked differently. Of course, people will ask why and what happened. What a great thing God is doing, giving you something that will have others ask about your encounter with God. People who encountered God have a different walk. 

The kingdom is not passive but advancing. The enemy wants us to settle and get comfortable. There is no no-man's land between the kingdom of God and the power of darkness. If we are not advancing and growing, we are retracting and dying. The kingdom of God suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.

I pray we all get into a wrestling match with God. You will never win, but you will never regret the encounter.

The Born Again Experience - 2

Last week we looked at what the born-again experience does to me as a natural being. Sin separates us from the purpose of God - Rom 3:23, Christ killed our old man or nature when He died for our sins on Calvary. Jesus clearly states that we must be born-again to enter the Kingdom of God. So what happens when you get born-again. 

Paul states that we are a new creation after we get born-again - 2 Cor 5:17. To understand the very act of being born-again, we must look at how God created in Genesis in the first place because it will give us insight into what happened with us. 

Ge 1:1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 

This is the very purpose of God to start with. Heaven and earth were always supposed to be mirror images of each other. Heaven was the spiritual dimension, and the earth was the natural dimension. Jesus teaches us to pray: Thy kingdom comes on earth as it is in heaven. There are numerous examples in scripture that prove that God intended that earth would mirror heaven. Rom 8:29, we are predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son. Jesus as the Son is the exact image or imprint of the Father - Heb 1:3. This is also the image of Adam before the fall of man, a man in the image of God - Gen 1:26. 

Gen 1:2 And the earth was void and without form, and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

This is a picture of what sin did to a man. It made us void of God's presence, and we no longer carried his image. The good news is that the Spirit of God is present. Jesus said that he would send us His Spirit and the Spirit will convict the world of sin - John 16:8. He is hovering over our chaos, loving on us, not condemning us but convicting us - John 3:16-17. What is important to see is that "Nothing" is happening even though the Spirit is present. God is waiting for the sinner to respond to the conviction of the Spirit. Just because He is convicting the world doesn't mean they are saved. They must respond to his calling them.

Gen 1:3 And God said: Let there be light, and there was light!

Nothing happened in creation until God spoke. When God speaks, He creates. Not only did God say: Let there be light, but look at what the Psalmist says!

Psa. 119:130  The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.

Psa. 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.

When God speaks, His word creates light. In the creation, as we know it today, God gives us a pattern to understand what happens when we get born again. Is it possible that when you said yes to Jesus's sacrifice and atoning blood, that God did the same thing to bring you forth as a new creation? I think scripture proofs that clearly. God created by speaking!

Why would Jesus tell us that we are now the light of the world? Why would we be a new creation created in His image, having the privilege to partake of His divine nature - 2 Pet 1:4? So what did God do when you said yes? Look at what James says:

Jam 1:18 Of His own will, He brought us forth by the WORD OF TRUTH, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.

How did God create you a new being? He spoke it just like He did in creation. Not only did he speak something, but He also spoke TRUTH. We know who the Truth is? His name is Jesus - John 14:6. God looked at Jesus as what would be the standard for the new creation and spoke what He saw in Jesus over you. Eph 1:4 says that God chose us out of Him before the foundation of the world. In the first creation, God created man out of the dust, in His own image, in the borg-again experience God created man out of Spirit in His own image. Paul says that as we carried the image of the early man so now we will carry the image of the heavenly man 1 Cor 15:45-49.

1 Pet 1:23 We are born-again not of corruptible seed but an incorruptible seed, THROUGH THE WORD that lives and abides forever.

How does a woman give birth? She must receive seed to be able to produce a child. Jesus is the incorruptible seed of God that was planted in your spirit man so that you can experience the new birth as a new creation. How did God do that? He spoke the Word, who is Jesus.

John 1:1 In the beginning, was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 

The word for "Word" is "Logos." Logos comes from the root word "Lego" which means: a conversation. Before God spoke you into existence in the new birth, the Godhead had a conversation about you. What did God say?

The first temptation Adam and Eve faced was not the fruit but the enemy asking them: "Is it so that God said?" The enemy will always attack the word of God. Words are like the seed that carries the potential to bring a great harvest. Daily we are bombarded with the enemy's words of fear, doubt, unbelief, condemnation, and guilt. What will happen with you when you stop listening to his rhetoric and start finding out what God said about you when He gave birth to you?

John 1:12-14 All who have accepted Him He gave them the authority to become the children of God, who were born not by the will of man or the will of the flesh, but by the will of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt amongst(in) us, and we beheld His glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

As a new creation, you have Him in you. As a new creation, He is the Word of God that brings light and life. When you said yes to Jesus, God created you a whole new being. You were born-again, having His Spirit living in you now. He who is the Word speaks and guides you all the days of your life - Rom 8:14.

The Born Again Experience - 1

Last week I was in Guatemala training missionaries that will go into the 10/40 window and plant churches. The topic for the week was the Holy Spirit. We looked at His role, His function, and then the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. During our time together, I realized that my class people did not understand the "Born Again" experience apart from having repented, feeling convicted, and asking Jesus to be their Lord and Savior. You might ask why I think it is important to understand the experience?

First, it has to do with our identity. Every person born has an identity. Think about your race, your sex, and your culture. That is the fabric or essence of what you are and what you represent. Yet, in the kingdom, most people are clueless about who they are and what they represent. The very first and last temptation Jesus faced was about His identity - Matt 4:3, Luke 23:39. "If you are the Son of God...." We will face the same temptations our whole life, and if we do not know who we are and what we represent, we will always fail at representing the fact that we are now children of God and living in a kingdom that is out of this world. 

To understand what happened at the born-again experience, we must search the scriptures to help us understand. In John 3:3-5, Jesus clarifies that no one can enter the kingdom unless they are born-again. Nicodemus thinks it is a natural birth, but Jesus was not referring to a natural birth but a spiritual birth. 

John 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

It is a spiritual birth that happens when you get born again. This spiritual birth is also the very thing that makes us a 'new creation." This is a key point to understand because God did not just renew your old self or gave you a makeover when you were born-again. He crucified your old self with Christ, meaning He killed your old man and created a whole new being. The born-again experience is an actual act of creation. Being born-again, you are a created being that has never existed before. You are now a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people that have been called to proclaim His praises because He has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light - 1 Pet 2:9.

2 Cor 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, all things have become new.

To understand what this verse really means, we must understand that this new creation is not your old self but is actually Christ living His life in you. Your old self has passed away. Many believers live and set their expectations on being natural beings trying to have a spiritual experience instead of understanding that they are spiritual beings having a natural experience. Your old man is crucified and dead. It should not be you living but Christ living in and through you. 

Gal 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless, I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Your old self was crucified with Christ. In his death and resurrection, He included you and all your past. Yet you live, not you, but Christ is living through you. Here is an interesting interaction. If I am dead, which I am, and He is alive, which He is, then whatever life I experience must be His life. 

1 John 5:11-12 And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

The next question would be: How do I make this happen? You can't.

Look at that verse again in Gal 2:20. It clearly states that we are crucified. 2 Cor 5:17 says the old has passed away. That means our old is incapable of living this life or making it happen. What makes it possible is this statement: 

And the life I now live I live by the faith OF the Son of God. 

Dead people have no faith. Lazarus had zero faith when Jesus called him out of the grave - John 11. It is not our faith. It is His faith in what He has done with the new creation. God believes in the fact that Jesus in us can live the life of the new creation. We must stop trying and surrender to the Life of God in us - Col 1:27. Christ in us the hope of glory!

God has predestined us to be conformed to the image of His Son - Rom 8:29. Only Jesus can live like Jesus.

I am regressing here, but it is so important for us to understand. We all are trying to fix our old selves, and it ends up looking like the zombie apocalypse. The earth is filled with a new creation, men and woman created back into the image of His Son. What the world needs to see is a people that reflect Christ. Jesus said that if we saw Him, we would see the Father - John 14:9.

Should that not be the same for us? When people see us, they should see our Father. 

Next week we will continue looking at the new creation as a creational act of God.

Spiritual Authority - 9

Spiritual Authority - 9 

This week I want to look at the subject of Faithfulness. As I said in the last blog, we can not get more of the Holy Spirit. Once you have him, you have him. It is like having water in a faucet. How much water comes out depends on how wide the faucet is opened. The water stays the same. The amount of water coming out changes. To grow in Spiritual Authority is not more of the Spirit. It is more about being yielded to the Spirit, and the more you yield, the more you will see an increase of His activity in and through your life. 

Another thing that can influence how much of the Spirit you can experience is faithfulness. Let's start by saying that faithfulness is a character of God. It is also one of the fruits of the Spirit - Gal 5:22-23. 

Psa. 119:90 Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: thou hast established the earth, and it abideth.

Faithfulness is one of God's characters, and it simply means that it is who He is. We as human beings can develop our characters or learn to change our behavior; it is not so with God. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever - Heb 13:8.

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

To help you to understand what that means, it is a fact that our actions can not change who God is. Our sin did not change God; it revealed who God is and what His character is like. God can change the way He does things, but He never changes who He is! He is faithful. For God to allow our actions to change his character, He will have to deny Himself.

2Tim. 2:13 If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.

Because we are still growing and learning to walk in victory, we must trust His faithfulness. Sin affects us, not God. When we fail, we must know that He stays faithful to redeem us and to save us. Sin is a real struggle that we face each day. Here is God's promise for us. 

1 Cor 10:13. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation, he will also provide the way of escape that you may be able to endure.

What happens when I sin. Again we see the very character of God displayed in full view for everyone to see!

1 John 1:8-9 If we say we have no sin, we lie, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Here is another promise from God.

2Th. 3:3 But the Lord is faithful, who shall establish you, and keep you from evil.

As you can see, faithfulness is who God is. When we display the very character of God, the Spirit is free to operate in that environment. When I act out of character as a new creation - 2 Cor 5:17, it stifles the Spirit's activity. The reason is simple. The Holy Spirit can and never will affirm any lifestyle that is contrary to the character of God. It would be like asking God to bless our sins. When we display the character of God through the way we treat people, the Spirit of God flows more freely to bless people. 

How do I know that this is even true? We have to look at the parable Jesus tells about the talents - Matt 25:14-30. In this story, there are three servants, and the master gives each one of them some talents. The first servant received five talents, the second servant received two talents, and the third servant received only one talent. Each servant received according to their own ability - Matt25:15. The master knew what each servant was capable of doing with what he handed them.

When the master leaves the servant with five talents made five more talents. So did the second servant and made two more talents. The servant who received only one talent hid the talent and did not increase what he received. The master returns and takes account of his goods. The first servant gives an account, and the master says: Well done, you faithful servant. I will make you a ruler over many things. The same happened for the servant that doubled his two talents. The master calls him faithful.

As you can see from this story, the servants' faithfulness ushered them into a place of more abundance. When we are faithful, we are trusted with more spiritual authority because God knows that we will steward it well. 

Faithfulness will always open the door for us to walk in greater levels of Spiritual Authority. What is important to remember is that we are expected to be faithful in our own walk first, but then we are also entrusted to give what we have to other faithful men. Paul admonished Timothy, a faithful servant in the Lord - 1 Cor 4:17 also to give what he has away to other faithful men. 

2Tim. 2:2 And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.

How well do you steward what God has put in front of you? If we are faithful in the little things, God can trust us with the greater things. 

Spiritual Authority - 8

We continue looking at how we can steward our Spiritual Authority better. Last week we looked at obedience. This week I want to look at serving people and how that helps us to grow.

Jesus made it very clear when he had to address the issue with the disciples. They got into an argument about who is the most important or the greatest in the Kingdom - Matt 18:1. Can you imagine how Jesus must have felt when they asked him this question? What did they think makes you great in the kingdom?

Matt. 18:1-4  At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever, therefore, shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 

I can imagine the disciples arguing about this. Peter and Andrew think they are the greatest because they gave up their fishing business to follow Christ - Matt 4:18-20. James and John disagree with Peter and Andrew because they also left their fishing business to follow Jesus - Matt 4:22. Andrew disagrees because he was the first one who heard John speak about the Messiah and told Peter, his brother, about Jesus - John 1:40-41. It seems like Andrew was the first evangelist when he went and got his brother to come to see Jesus. Phillip disagrees because he was the first to recognize that Jesus was the one Moses and the Prophets talked about in the Law and the Prophetic books. He also found Nathaniel and told him about Jesus - John 1:44-45. Nathaniel feels he is most important because he was the first to admit that Jesus was the Son of God, long before Peter had that revelation - John 1:49. 

Peter speaks up again and defends his reputation: "Remember boys that I was the one that Jesus called to walk to him on the water" - Matt 14:28-33. Judas chimes in with: "Yes, but you failed." Again Peter responds and reminds them that Jesus asked him and James and John to go up on the mountain with Him - Matt 17:1. James and John chimes in that they are the most important because they were the ones asking Jesus if they could call fire down on the people that did not prepare for Jesus, just like Elijah did in his day - Luke 9:54. Their mother agrees with them because she thinks they should sit on each side of Jesus. Their mother even asked Jesus personally if that was possible - Matt20:20. Jesus' brothers are troubled because they are his brothers. That makes them more important - Mark 6:3.

What about Paul? He tells us what he gave up and what he suffered - 2 Cor 11:16-30. Suffering that much must make you of great importance in the kingdom. What about John the Baptist? He introduced Jesus to the world. What about David, Aaron, Moses, Samson, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Joshua, and all the other prophets. Are they not important?

None of these people are important because of who they were. What makes us great is when we serve and lay our lives down. Become as Children Jesus said. Children depend on their parents. We must be depending on God. Children are teachable; we must stay teachable and stop living like we know it all. Children can grow in their understanding; we must remain where we understand our need to grow up in Christ. 

More than anything else, we must have the attitude that Jesus had. He who was equal with God laid it all down and was found in a bondservant form; he came to serve the lost - Phill 2:5-8. Jesus also tells us that if we want to be great, learn what it is to serve first. 

Mark 10:42-45. But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them. But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be the servant of all. For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

So, in conclusion, how do we experience greater Spiritual Authority? We must learn to take the lowest seat, serve the ones God put in front of us, and demonstrate that the kingdom is not about us but about them. When we love people the way God loves them, we will step into greater authority, not that the authority is greater, but we are better prepared to be used by God. 

Next week we will look at how faithfulness helps us to walk in a greater capacity in our Spiritual Authority.

Spiritual Authority - 7

How do we grow in our Spiritual Authority?

Let me start by saying that you can grow in Spiritual Authority, not get more than what is available. It would be as if someone asks: "How can I get more of the Holy Spirit?" You can't. Authority is authority, but how we steward what Spiritual Authority we have helps us walk in greater authoritative levels. 

Jesus is a prime example of this principle. 

Luke 2:52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.

As a child, Jesus stewarded his life well. As he did, He increased in wisdom, favor, and maturity. He did not have the Spiritual Authority as a boy that He had after His baptism, which will be given once He was approved - Luke 4:14. You will never give your car keys to your five-year-old son. When he turns sixteen, then you can allow him to learn how to drive the car. Spiritual Authority is no different. As you steward your life well, you are allowed to walk in greater levels of Spiritual Authority. A novice is never qualified to handle what Spiritual Authority represents. Paul admonishes us when he writes to Timothy about someone in leadership. Do not put a beginner in place of leadership.

1 Tim 3: 2-7 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behavior, given to hospitality, apt to teach; Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (For if a man know not how to rule his own home, how shall he take care of the church of God?) Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride, he falls into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he falls into reproach and the snare of the devil.

So the question remains, what must I do to be able to walk in greater levels?

1. Obedience: Pastors do not preach a lot of sermons on this anymore. Jesus was very outspoken about obedience. He compares it to the way we love Him. "If you love me you will keep my commandments - John 14:15.

1 John 5:2 By this, we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. 

Obedience is essential for the mere fact that it deals with our rebellion. We don't think we have any issues until we are asked to obey a command. We don't talk about obedience because it makes people feel uncomfortable. The reality is that God is more concerned with our character than He is with our comfort. Obedience will build character faster than any self-help program. It would help if you tried it.

When obedience is lacking in our lives, self-interest becomes a god. Just ask Adam and Eve. Obedience is a choice we are asked to make each day to follow His plan for our life. Jesus learned obedience through what he suffered - Heb 5:8, Phil 2:8. Was it because Jesus struggled with being disobedient? No, He was not struggling with disobedience, but He showed us that obedience leads to intimacy. Our love is measured by our obedience. Disobedience affects a relationship. Through obedience, we gain greater intimacy that then leads to greater obedience. 

We create laws to make it easy for people to give obedience at least a try. The Law requires obedience. The Old Covenant problem was not the Law; the Law is perfect - Psalm 19:7. They were the problem. The writer in Hebrew states it like this: "For if that first covenant(Old Covenant) had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second(New Covenant). But finding fault with THEM, He said:" - Heb 8:7-8.

The Law gives people a choice to engage their minds. You want to think about it logically. When your thinking gets involved, you will choose your own way most of the time, not God's way. Israel's problem was that they got their heads involved and not their hearts. Think about how many people you hear today saying: "I know the Bible says this, but...."

Intimacy produces obedience. Intimacy also requires permission. Without permission, intimacy is a violation. Intimacy is not a head issue but a heart issue. God is after your heart. Intimacy happens when two will's become one will. My wife and I agree on things. We want the same thing. We make sure that our hearts are one on whatever issue we face. Agreement is better than the Law. Jesus said that where two agree touching anything it can happen for them - Matt 18:19.

God wants us to live in agreement with Him. That manifests as obedience without any struggle. He wants us to think with our hearts and not with our minds that still need some renewing - Rom 12:1-2. We must renew our minds, but in the meantime, let us get our hearts connected to Him. Look at what God tells Israel!

Ex 19:5-6 Now, therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. 

We know Jesus said that if we love Him, we will keep His commandments. The same promise is given to us that God gave to Israel!

1 Pet 2:9-10 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal(king) priesthood(Priests), a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light: Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy. 

Next week we will continue looking at how we can grow in our walk with God and be more effective in Spiritual Authority.

Spiritual Authority - 6

Authority of the believer.

What is the authority of the believer, and why do we need it? Lets us remember that authority is not just what you have but what you are connected to. It is about what sources you to be able to do what you are asked to do.

When Jesus came to earth, God anointed him and gave him authority to complete his assignment - Acts 10:38. In scripture, we read how the people question Jesus about the authority he had. 

Matt. 21:23  And when he came into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these things and who gave thee this authority?

Even the devils acknowledge that Jesus had authority by asking him not to torment them before their time. They even ask his permission to go into the pigs when he casts them out. 

Luke 4:36 And they were all amazed, and spake among themselves, saying, What a word is this! for with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out.

After God raised Jesus from the dead, he claims that all authority has been given to Him - Matt 28:18. Imagine Jesus going back to heaven to take his place next to the Father and leaving us as his Church here with no authority at all. He did not even do that while he was on the earth. While Jesus was here, he gave them authority then to cast out devils and heal the sick. This all lines up with the prayer he commanded them to pray. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as is it is heaven. If he has authority in heaven, then he has authority on earth. While he is not here in person, he gave us the authority to represent him on earth.

The first reason we need authority is so that we can complete our mission. Jesus said to go into all the world and to make disciples - Matt 28:19-20. Remember that by our love for each other, they will know us. He authorized us to bring the Good News to everyone and to disciple them to become citizens of heaven. Everyone that is sent has to be authorized. You cannot represent the one sending you without the proper permission and ability to accomplish the task. Doing this is merely obeying orders, not exercising a right to achieve a mission.

Secondly, we must have authority because we are in a battle against the enemy. We know he is powerful. Jesus gave us power and authority over the power of the enemy - Luke 9:1. We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but principalities and powers and rulers of the darkness, spiritual hosts of wickedness, and they are not overcome by force alone - Eph 6:12. God has given us weapons to pull down the strongholds the enemy sets up against us like lies and deception, arguments, and every high thing that wants to exalt itself against the knowledge of God 2 Cor 10:4-5.

Thirdly we need authority because we are representing the Kingdom as Ambassadors of Christ. Ambassadors represent their country and the laws of that country. If we are ambassadors for the Kingdom, we represent everything the Kingdom stands for. The Laws, the culture, the monetary system, the worship, the lifestyle, everything. No ambassador goes as a representative to another country without the authority to represent the country he comes from. Ambassadors bring their culture to a different culture. 

2 Cor 5:20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.

The fourth reason we need authority is so we can preach the Gospel. Every born-again believer has the authority and responsibility to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ on this earth. 

Mark 16:15-20 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven and sat on the right hand of God. And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.

Verse 20 says, They went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. God will confirm His Word, but first, it has to be put forth. That is where you and I come in. God does not preach; He has given us the authority to do the preaching. God will not lay hands on the sick. He will bring the healing, but you and I as believers must lay hands on the sick by faith, believing that God will perform His Word. And these signs shall follow them that believe. I want you to notice who is to do all these things: them that believe. The signs will follow the believers who act in faith and boldly speak in Jesus’ name. THEY shall cast out devils; THEY shall speak with new tongues; THEY shall lay hands on the sick, etc. The believer is the one with the power and authority to do these things.

Next week we will look at how we can grow in our Spiritual Authority.

Spiritual Authority - 5

We continue looking at authority. We have established that all authority is from God. Last time we saw that the root meaning of authority in Hebrew means to overpower or prevail, and in Greek, it means connected to the right source or out of the I AM.

John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power(authority) to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.

The word "power" is the Greek word Exousia. This verse literally says that we are given authority to become His children when we accept Jesus as Savior and Lord. We have already seen that one of the meanings is to be connected to the proper source. Being born again is more than just receiving forgiveness for your sins. It is more than just having eternal life. When we understand that it also includes us being connected to the right source, we will understand what God intended to sustain us. He is our life and our source each day. 

1 John 5:11-12 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. 

You were in God's plan from the beginning. Before God created anything, He already saw your life - Psalm 139. God has always seen man as being connected to Him. We were created by Him, for Him, and His purposes. We were never supposed to be disconnected or separated from God. The horror of sin is that it severed us from God, our very source. Sin separated us from the life of God. If you are not connected to God you have no life in you. To get life, you must have the Son - 1 John 5:12. When we sinned, we got disconnected from God and connected to the wrong source. We all sinned and fell short of the glory of God - Rom 3:23.

It is natural for sinners to sin because they are connected to the father of sin. They can only produce from the source that they are connected to. Death brings forth death. The wages of sin is death - Rom 6:23.

What happened when we got born again? 

First, you became a new creation. The born again experience does not try to fix your old nature or your old man. It recreates you into a new creation, a God creation, a creation that is severed from their past sins. 

2 Cor 5:17 I am a New Creation. Old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 

This newly created being is now united with God again. Not only have you been connected with God again, but He also allows us to become participants in His divine nature. 

Eph 1:3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.

2Pet. 1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

Here is where it all comes together. Because we are now connected with the proper source, sharing in God's nature, He gives us the authority to be His children. We get what we need from Him. He sources our needs and connects us with Him to demonstrate what it looks like to be children of God. 

When I got born again, my old man died. I was crucified with Christ, and I am not living anymore. His life is pulsating through me. He is living His life in and through me. 

Gal 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I that live, but Christ is living through me. The life I now live I live by the faith of the Son of God.

In closing, let's see what this verse says. Remember that I am no longer living. I was crucified with Christ. He is living His life in me. If I am dead and He is alive, who's faith is working in me? It is His faith. Some translations replaced the word "His" for the word "in." Then it reads, "I live by faith in the Son of God." 

It is not us believing in Him. It is Him believing in us because He knows and understands the power of the Life of Christ. The authority is what God gives because our source is Christ. I love how Paul defends the faith in the book of Acts.

Acts 17:28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.

Next week we will look further into the authority of the believer.

Spiritual Authority - 4

This week we will look deeper into the difference between authority and power. 

Luke 10:19-20 Behold, I give you authority (exousia) to trample on serpents and scorpions and over all the power (dunamis) of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.

We have already established that satan has no authority except for what he gets through lies and deception - John 8:44. Because of his lies and deceit, he gains control over people. He is a master at making people believe he has authority in their lives. The lies empower him, but Jesus says that if we bring it to the light, his lies are exposed - John 3:19-21. I have often seen that when you cancel your agreement with a lie, people are set free. If the enemy had authority, then the lie would stand, and people will stay in bondage. Authority is not dismissed because you disagree with it. 

I might disagree with the policeman who pulled me over for speeding, but he still has the authority to charge me with a fine for breaking the law. I might say he is lying about how fast I was driving; he still has authority. 

Jesus clearly states that the enemy has power. He will give us authority over the power of the enemy. Power has a limit. When I go to the gym, I can only benchpress so many pounds. When I started, I could use 30-pound dumbells, and now I can use 50-pound dumbells. That is pretty much the end of my power. I am trying to make a point. The enemy has power, and that power is limited. He likes to intimidate us through fear and doubt to make himself look bigger and stronger. 

That is what happened with Israel and David. Goliath was a giant, and Israel was on the battlefield to fight against the philistines. Daily Goliath would come out and shout at them, calling them names and cursing them by his god - 1 Sam 17:4-11. They were afraid and ran away from the giant. Goliath would tell them what he was going to do with them until David showed up. Saul, the king of Israel, tried to discourage David from fighting the giant. Goliath was strong and experienced in fighting in a war. 

Something amazing happened when David went on the battlefield. Goliath started screaming again, but this time there was someone with a response. David tells Goliath that things are different this time. He tells Goliath what will happen to him instead. Here is a powerful lesson. How many times did we allow the enemy to dictate the outcome? How many times do we allow him to run his mouth, knowing he always speaks lies? How many times did we not interrupt him to say what will be different this time around? He is powerful, but he does not have the authority to determine what will happen in your life. As a child of God, you are under God's command. God has the right to dictate what your life can be. 

After killing Goliath with a stone, he takes Goliath's sword and cuts off the giant's head. He is silencing the voice of intimidation and lies. That is what God promised Jesus would do in Genesis 3:15. The promise to Eve is that her seed will crush the enemy's head. Jesus silenced his voice so that we would not have to listen to it. Why are we allowing him to speak to us?

Our permission empowers him. Stop listening. Sin can be defeated long before you act on it. 

Authority is different than power. Authority has an origin: God! 

Rom 13:1 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and authorities that exist are appointed by God. 

The very word used for "Authority" explains this concept perfectly. 

Authority:

Hebrew word: תָּקַף ṯāqap̱; a primitive root; to overpower: — prevail (against).

Greek word: ἐξουσία exousia; from 1832 (in the sense of ability); privilege, i.e. (subjectively) force, capacity, competency, freedom, or (objectively) mastery (concretely, magistrate, superhuman, potentate, token of control), delegated influence: — authority, jurisdiction, liberty, power, right, strength.

The Greek word for authority brakes down further as:

1832. ἔξεστιν exestin; third person singular present indicative of a compound of 1537 and 1510

1. 1537 ἐξ ex; a primary preposition denoting origin (the point whence action or motion proceeds), from, out (of place, time, or cause; literal or figurative; direct or remote)

2. 1510 εἰμί eimi; the first person singular present indicative; a prolonged form of a primary and defective verb; I exist.

Authority in the Hebrew means to prevail, overpower. In Greek, we see that authority is from two words, Ex - meaning a predetermined origin (God), and the word "Eimi" - I exist (God). To help you understand, authority in Greek means: Out of the I AM - Ex 3:13.

Because all authority emanates from God and starts with God, He alone can give it. So when Jesus said: I give you authority over the power of the enemy, we must understand that what He gave us is our ability to connect to the same source He was attached to. Authority is not about what you have but what you are connected to. The enemy is never our source. Believing his lies and allowing him to intimidate us is to communicate and connect with the wrong source. 

We have our life from God. In Him, we live and move and have our being - Acts 17:28.

Next week we will look more at our authority.

Spiritual Authority - 3

We continue our discussion about spiritual authority. So far, we have seen that:

1. God is the source of all authority.

2. Authority works best when it is relational, not just positional.

3. Authority is functional and not static.

4. Authority was intended to work through love.

5. Authority will develop faith in people.

This week we want to take a closer look at what authority is. We have established that all authority comes from God. Authority gives you influence over people. There is a vast difference between power and authority. Power is limited, while authority can be both limited and unlimited. 

Authority can be limited in that it can only be exercised over certain people or tasks. A Governor only has authority over the state he governs. The President has a more significant authority than a Governor. His authority is not as limited as that of a Governor. 

No one has unlimited authority except God. No person has complete authority. No government has absolute authority. It is all delegated authority. Even the devils and demons submit to Jesus and His Name.

Eph 1:20-21 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world but also in that which is to come.

You must understand that when satan was kicked out of heaven, he left heaven with no authority. The question is: Didn't he have authority over the demons that followed him? First, if God authorized satan, God would sanction his rebellion, and God would not do that. Secondly, satan rules over those demons because of deception and lies, and that is not authority but manipulation. He leads because they allow it, satan manipulates them through fear and not because he has it. Satan had influence because we know he influenced a third of the angels to follow him - Rev 12:3-4. He has power but no authority. Jesus never recognized satan as having authority but does acknowledge that he has power - Luke 10:19.

Jesus says that he saw satan fall from heaven like lightning Luke 10:18. Do you think this happened to satan when the disciples returned and rejoiced because demons were subject to them? Remember that the disciples were not born again yet. These were unsaved people casting out demons! Jesus was referring to something that happened long before they even got to this point in time. How could they cast demons out? Demons and the devil have no authority. Jesus gave the disciples the authority to do it. The newest believer has more authority than satan, or any demon will ever have. 

Luke 10:19-20 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.

If satan has no authority, where do you think he would like to get authority from? He knows God will not give it to him. Let's see what the enemy did.

When God created Adam, He made man in His image and gave man dominion and authority to rule over all His hands' works. The Psalmist states that God made Adam only one level lower than Himself. 

Psa. 8:3-9  When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon, and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels (Elohim - God), and hast crowned him with glory and honor. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas. O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!

Adam had delegated authority from God to rule and reign on earth. The enemy being kicked out from heaven then comes to earth and deceives Adam. By getting Adam to sin, man becomes a slave to satan, and satan rules with the authority man had - Rom 6:16. Delegated authority is better than no authority at all. He is now the god of this world. Please see how he blinds people and keep them in bondage to his stolen authority. 

2 Cor 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

Jesus also does not dispute satans claim when he offers Jesus the kingdoms of the world - Matt 4:8-10. What Jesus refuses to do is acknowledge satans authority by bowing down to him. The mistake satan makes is assuming that if you own something, it gives you authority. I am trying to convince you that because I drive a Mercedes, all of the Mercedes Company functions on my command. Satan does not own creation; he influences the kingdoms of this world like the culture, arts, education, banking, and entertainment. The earth is still the Lords and all that is in it Psalm 24:1.

So satan has no authority except what people allow him to have through deception and manipulation. Jesus has all authority, but we will look at that next time.

Spiritual Authority - 2

Last week we started looking at this interesting concept. What we learned so far is:

1. God is the source of all authority.

2. Authority works best when it is relational, not just positional.

This week we continue with establishing some understanding about spiritual authority. These are things we must understand to have a proper understanding of the subject of spiritual authority.

The third thing we must understand when it comes to authority is that authority is functional and not static. Authority is distributed so that it can serve a purpose. Authority is never passive. Authority, in its very essence, requires someone to act. Imagine Jesus having authority to heal the sick, raise the dead, forgive sins, but he just went about doing his own thing each day. Imagine he had all that but never acted on it. No one would respect him for it. No one will even submit to such an authority that only carries a title but is entirely unable to change anything. 

Acts 10:38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and power, and he went about doing good, healing all who were oppressed of the devil. 

I know this will ruffle some feathers, but here it goes. If your leaders are leaders in title only but show no ability to deliver people or set them free, you might want to find someone functional in their calling and not have a leader that is just static in his authority. You will never grow beyond the ones that lead you and leaders that do not challenge you. If their authority is static, yours will be too.

Because authority is functional, it has the potential to be abused or misused. I am sure we all have a story to tell. We must understand that if someone misuses a hundred dollar bill, it does not mean we stop using hundred dollar bills. Because someone else abuses authority does not tell that all authority is abusive. There is an authentic authority that functions in a proper relationship, and that blesses the people and not curse them. Find the ministry where authority functions to bless and challenge the people. We must be careful. Yielding to an authority that is out of wack can only lead to disaster.

We see the seven sons of Sceva that tried to cast out demons in the name of Jesus, just because they saw someone else do it. It did not end well for them because not even the devils will submit to that kind of abusive authority. Acts 19:13-16.

The great question is: Can we measure how authentic authority functions?

The fourth thing we must understand is that authority and primarily spiritual authority functions through love. The more God can trust you to love people well; the more his authority will function in your life. To trust you with authority, knowing you do not love well, will only end in you manipulating people. You will never control someone you love. God never manipulates people. He always gives us a choice to make.

Manipulation is narcissistic, self-seeking, and self-centered. The root of manipulation is demonic. The enemy tries to manipulate, control, and rule over people through deception and lies. Manipulation is a sure sign of someone who lacks the proper authority and plans to advance themselves. God will never put his stamp of approval on that kind of leadership. It is time we discern authentic leadership leading by authority and not just people leading because they have the talent to preach or teach. 

John 14:35 By this shall all men know that you are my disciples if you have love one for another. 

The next thing that will come from this is that people with real authority tend to give people hope and energize faith in people. Everywhere Jesus went, people felt loved and had faith to believe in a miracle. Faith is energized by love - Gal 5:6b. 

Love is never defined as permission. Love will correct, and love will act. It is not a loving act to see someone in sin and be silent. That is called license and enablement, not love. Another reason ministries are powerless and without authority is because we compromised with the fear of man. Political correctness has become the new holy spirit in the church. How can God trust us with spiritual authority if we use it to enable a man in his sin? 

The world needs to see men and women that walk in their spiritual authority. When Jesus gave us the great commandment to go into all the world, He gave us the authority over the power of the enemy - Luke 10:19. 

We have all we will ever need to be more than overcomers. Can we learn to stay in fellowship and relationship, placing His commands above all else and become ambassadors for His Kingdom?

Spiritual Authority - 1

This week we start looking at a fascinating subject. Spiritual Authority is one thing that can work really well or end in extreme abuse if people don't understand what it is or for what purpose it must be applied. 

We have all seen the abuse that ranges from deceit to outright manipulation. Not many things make the hair stand up on my neck, but if there s one thing that I absolutely hate, it is abused authority.  

Before we even get into what it is or what it is not, let me start by establishing some understanding. 

For authority to function correctly, whether natural or the supernatural, we must understand where all authority comes from. No authority, power, rule, or dominion could exist without God. There must be a starting point, a genesis, or origin for authority. If you can not determine the source, you will never know who you are dealing with. Without a starting point, the question remains, Who's authority? The fact that all authority is from God also establishes the fact that if all authority emanates from God, every authority after God is delegated authority. 

Delegated authority is the ability to represent God and be trusted to use the authority He gives to establish and represent his rule and will in every situation. It is more about representing than it is about a position. It is called relational authority. When you are in the right relation, there is a flow from the top down recognizable by others. 

Jesus had it with the Father. The centurion had it with his superiors. Moses had it with God. How will our walk change when we realize this!

Every position or ministry in the body of Christ functions with delegated authority. If people misrepresent God through the way they use their delegated authority, you have the choice to move away from that. Is it disobedience to walk away? No, because staying is to confirm that God sanctions abuse, which He never will. If someone is manipulating you because they are in a place of authority, know that God disapproves of that. By submitting and staying, you are establishing a flow of authority that is ungodly.

The church is full of people allowing people to rule over them instead of learning to stand in the authority that God has given them. 

The second thing that also proves to be true is that when God created something, He has the authority over the very thing He created. God created all things, man and angels and demons, and therefore, God will always have authority over all of creation. After Jesus' death and resurrection, God established the fact that He has all authority. No one opposes God when He gives Jesus a name above every name and declares that every knee will bow and confess Jesus to Lord. Jesus declares that all authority has been given to Him - Matt 28:18.

Eph 1:20-22 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church.

Phil 2:9-11 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

The Pharisees had a problem. They had the Law of Moses, and that gave them authority. Their authority was limited. They had no authority to set people free but only to make sure people kept the Law. They had positional authority, not relational authority. They did not know God and confessed Abraham to be their father. Jesus corrects them with a stunning statement: You are of your father the devil...- John 8:44. Religion can give you a place of authority, but you can be deceived about who you represent. 

That is why it is possible to see people in leadership with no clue who God is or what He represents. The pulpit is full of charlatans, and people who love leadership positions but have no relationship with God. You have people that lead by natural talent and are great motivational speakers but have no calling being in ministry. You need to know what you submit too!

When the Pharisees see Jesus in action they feel threatened. We see that in the question the Pharisees asked Jesus. They recognized that His authority was higher and more powerful.

Mark 1:27 And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, "What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him."

They had no idea what Jesus represented. He tries to show them that He has an authority they have not seen yet, not since Adam. He has what Adam had but more, the authority to forgive sins. They knew only God could forgive sins. They could never admit that. Jesus demonstrates that relational authority is far superior to positional authority. 

Matt 9:6-8 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"—he then said to the paralytic—"Rise, pick up your bed and go home." And he rose and went home. When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men.

Please remember this statement! Relational authority is far superior to positional authority. We are seated with Him in heavenly places but our authority stems and is grounded not in where we sit but who's we are when we get born again. 

We will talk more about that next time. 

The Blood of Jesus - 6

Until you see yourself from His perspective, your process is compromised. Your view is skewed. The way we see has been influenced by our beliefs, upbringing, environment, and culture. God is the only one that has the proper perspective. How can you change what you see? 

One way to see yourself with a different perspective is to understand what the Blood of Jesus did.

Nobody speaks about the Blood anymore. Back in the days, we sang: "There is power, power, wonder-working power in the blood of the Lamb." Another well-known Hymnal was: 'Are you washed, in the Blood, in the soul-cleansing blood of the Lamb. Are your garments spotless are they white as snow, are you washed in the Blood of the Lamb."

The Blood of Jesus does many things. Do you know what it can and will do? We all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God – Rom 3:23. If you are a sinner, you can only view yourself from a sinner's perspective. How is that working for you?

The Blood provided a New Covenant for us. In this New Covenant, God no longer imputes our sins to us. He put it all on Jesus and now sees you and me through the perspective of 'It is finished." Do you comprehend the fullness and the benefit of the Blood?

1 Cor. 11:25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me."

1. The first thing the Blood does is it redeems you from your fallen state. We all need redemption. Someone asked me this past week why I believe Jesus is the only way? Great question. He is the only one that paid for my transgression. Buddha or Mohammad never did. Why do you want to believe in someone or something that cannot deal with your sin issue but can only ask you to work it out for yourself?

His Blood redeems us. Redemption means that Jesus paid the price. Jesus met the requirement for your release from sin.

Eph. 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.

Rev. 5:9 And they sang a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou was slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation.

1 Pet. 1:18-19 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious Blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

Titus 2:14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

2. The second thing the Blood does is cleanse you from your sin. That has not changed and never will. The enemy fears the Blood of Jesus because of what it does. By His Blood, your sins have been completely removed, forgotten, and washed away. Through His Blood, we are cleansed.

Rev 1:5 And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins with His own Blood.

Matt. 26:28 for this is my Blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

Col. 1:14 In whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins:

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 cleanses us from all sin.

3. Thirdly, the Blood of Jesus justifies us. To be justified means that all records against you have been removed. You have been tried, but you have been acquitted of any and all wrongdoing that you were accused of. All punishment and wrath against you have been removed. Satan is the accuser of the brethren but all accusations against you have been settled and paid for by His Blood.

Rom. 5:9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.

Rom. 3:24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

1 Cor. 6:11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

Titus 3:7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

4. The fourth thing the Blood does for us gives you peace. This peace is not the peace the world offers. This peace is a person. Jesus is the Prince of Peace. No more condemnation and guilt. You are free from shame and feeling like you are not good enough. Peace is the total destruction of chaos. Chaos is what the enemy's kingdom is about. In the midst of what is going on in the world, you can have peace. 

Col 1:20 And by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the Blood of His cross. 

Rom. 5:1  Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

Rom. 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.

1 Cor. 14:33 For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.

Heb. 13:20 Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the Blood of the everlasting covenant

5. The fifth thing the Blood of Jesus does is it cleanses your conscience. Your conscience is your Spirit man that speaks to you. Under the leading of the Holy Spirit, you can stop the tendency to sin and start living in a way that pleases God. This is not to earn your salvation, but it is a life made possible by and through the shed Blood of Jesus. We all need our conscience cleansed.

Heb. 9:12,14 Neither by the Blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. 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?

1Tim. 3:9 Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience.

Heb. 10:22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

1Pet. 3:16  Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.

6. The sixth thing the Blood of Jesus does is that the Blood sanctifies you. Sanctification is the act or process of becoming or being holy. His Blood makes us holy. God is Holy. The Blood makes it possible for us to fellowship with a Holy God. 

1 Pet. 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:

1 Pet. 1:15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; 16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

Heb. 10:19  Having, therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the Blood of Jesus

Eph. 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

Heb 13:12 Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.

7. The seventh thing that the Blood of Jesus does is makes you more than an overcomer. No longer subject to the desires of the flesh or the old nature, you can now live and overcome temptation. You are not called to just barely make it. You are called to live a life that demonstrates the victory that Jesus bought for you on Calvary. The cross was not a place of defeat but a place of total victory.

Rev. 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.

8. The last thing His Blood does is it gives life. Eternal life! Eternal life is to know the Father, not just go to heaven. His Blood made it possible for us to know God. 

John 17:3 This is eternal life, that they might know the Father and the one whom He has sent.

John 6:53-56 So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.

His Blood:

1. Redeems us.

2. Cleanses us from sin.

3. Justifies us.

4. It gives you peace.

5. Cleanse your conscience.

6. Sanctifies you.

7. It makes you an overcomer.

8. It gives you life.

His Blood separated us and repurposed us for the Kingdom. With all these benefits, why do we want to discard the power of the Blood? His Blood is precious. Why does the enemy hate His Blood? He must understand the power of all that His Blood did for us. 

The Blood of Jesus - 5

In this blog, I want to look at what God commanded Israel concerning blood. Two scriptures set God's expectation about this issue.

The first scripture is in Gen 9:4 after Noah and his family leave the Ark. God tells them that they are allowed to eat from any plant and eat any meat but with one stipulation. They are not allowed to eat the animal's blood because the animal's blood is its life.

"But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is its blood."

The second time God sets the same expectation is in Leviticus 17 when God gives them the commands about sacrifices and the Day of Atonement. Again we see God repeat the same command.

Lev 17:10-13 “If any one of the house of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn among them eats any blood, I will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from among his people. For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life. Therefore I have said to the people of Israel. No person among you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger who sojourns among you eat blood.

Because the blood represents the life of the animal, God does not want a man to partake in the animal's life. When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, God prevents them from participating of the Tree of life as well. I believe the reason God sent an Angel to guard the Tree of Life was that if they partook of it, man would forever live in a state of depravity. God had a different plan for man and his lost condition.

What was God's plan? God's plan is Jesus!

Jesus would be the lamb of God. John identifies Jesus as such when Jesus comes to be baptized by John. "There is the lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world - John 1:29. Not only would Jesus be the sacrifice, but His Blood would be the reason we have forgiveness of sins. 

Matt 26:28 For this is the Blood of the New Covenant which is shed for many for the remission of sins. 

Things changed when Jesus came. He comes and asks the people to do something that seems to be contrary to what God commanded them. He commands his disciples to eat his flesh and drink His blood - John 6:53-58. We know that He did not ask them to be cannibals, as they have partaken many times of the lambs they have offered as a symbol or substitute for the real sacrifice God required. Jesus would be the sacrifice that would satisfy sin, but He would add something significant in the New Covenant. Drink His blood.

In the Old Covenant, they were forbidden to drink the blood because God did not want them to partake in the animal's life(blood). In the New Covenant, we are allowed to participate in the life(blood) of Jesus by partaking in the Covenant meal. Jesus substituted His blood and His body with the bread and the wine. Why are we to do that now?

John 6:54-58 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. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live forever.

Without partaking in His blood(life), we have no life. The life is in the blood. Without the blood, there is no remission of sin. He has a sinless life, and by partaking His blood, we are participating in a sinless life. 

The communion meal is so powerful. God identified with our sin by having Jesus become sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God through Christ Jesus our Lord - 2 Cor 5:21. 

Rev. 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 Blood of Jesus - 4

This week we look at the things the Blood of Jesus can do.

His Blood is more powerful than anything. His Blood has the power to save us from our sin, protect us from harm, heal our bodies, and gives us authority over the power of the enemy.

His Blood has the power to save us from our sin. We all have sinned and have fallen short of God's purpose for our lives - Rom 3:23. We all need redemption from our sins and trespasses. Without the shedding of the Blood of Jesus, there is no remission of sins - Eph 1:7. You might ask, why do we need His Blood? Sin caused us to be separated from God and die. The wages of sin is death - Rom 6:23. For us to get eternal life back, God had to redeem us. The price would be a life because only His life could overcome death. Blood was required because God said: The life is in the Blood - Gen 9:4. God forbid a man to eat animals' blood because that will constitute someone partaking of that life. We needed to partake of His Blood so we can have His life. The communion meal is symbolic of us taking part in Jesus' life by drinking the wine.

Rom. 3:25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His Blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;

Matt. 26:28 For this is My Blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. 

Secondly, His Blood protects us from harm. In the Bible, the word "propitiation" means to protect from harm. Christ's Blood saves and helps us avoid destruction. Jesus came to strip the enemy from all authority and the right to inflict harm on us. Satan is stripped of all authority and disarmed by faith in that precious blood. He is no longer free to act against you or your family to bring harm or mischief. And satan must therefore flee - James 4:7. 

1John 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

1John 4:10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Thirdly His Blood heals us from all diseases. This is a controversial subject because most people do not understand that healing is part of the Atonement. He was bruised for our iniquities, and by His stripes, we are healed - Isaiah 53:5, 1 Pet 2:24. 

Jesus makes this clear when He asks: What is easier to say, rise up and walk or your sins are forgiven - Mark 2:9. Jesus parallels salvation and healing in His statement. Both are a work of God and can be obtained through simple faith. James says the same thing when he encourages the church to call the elders to pray for the sick, and if they have sinned, their sins will be forgiven as well - James 5:14-15.

Lastly, we see that the Blood of Jesus gives us victory over the enemy. Jesus said that He gives us authority over the power of the enemy - Luke 10:19. He gives us His Blood as a weapon to overcome the enemy when he attacks us. How do we overcome the enemy? We ask God to cover us with the Blood of Jesus. When they applied the blood to the doorposts n Egypt, the destroyer had to pass over them and not touch them. We can apply His Blood to ourselves, our family, and our children. This is what John writes in Revelation.

Rev. 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.

Rev 1:4-5 Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own Blood.