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POWER FILLED CHRISTIAN LIVING

INTRODUCTION

All the power of God in heaven and in earth belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ Matthew 28:18-“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.”

However, there is one thing that separates man and God, and that is sin!

Isaiah 59:1-2–“Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: 2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.”

Before we can know God’s power in our lives and service, sin must be removed in order to get rid of the separation between God and us.

It is Christ’s blood that removes sin. Hebrews 9:26–“For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.”

We must know the power of the blood if we are to know the power of God.

There is a saying among Italian sculptors, who often miss the chisel and hit their own hands with the hammer: “When the blood flows out, the mastery enters.” It was so with Jesus Christ. It was his death on Calvary that made him the master of our souls.

What does the blood of Christ have the power to do?

I.        THE BLOOD OF CHRIST HAS THE POWER TO ATONE FOR OUR SIN! (Romans 3:25; Ephesians 1:3-6, Leviticus 17:11)

Dwight L. Moody said, “A great many people are trying to make peace, but that has already been done. God has not left it for us to do; all we have to do is to enter into it.”

God is a holy God who hates sin. God’s hatred of sin is not a false hatred, but rather it is real; it is living; it is active. Somehow, it must manifest itself. His wrath at sin must strike somewhere. For the believer the wrath of God strikes at Jesus Christ

Isaiah 53:6–“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

There is a story told about a one-room school house where severe discipline was used to keep the rowdyism of uninterested pupils in check. The noon recess was ended and the teacher was interrogating the class with regard to the disappearance of Sally Jane’s lunch.

After a few minutes of verbal threats and demands, a sob was heard. It was little Billy–a thin, undernourished child. His family was the poorest of the poor.

                            “Did you take Sally Jane’s lunch?” demanded the teacher.

“Yes, sir,” Billy mumbled through his tears, “I was hungry.”

“Nevertheless, you did wrong to steal and you must be punished,” declared the teacher. As the teacher removed the leather strap from its place on the wall, Billy was ordered to the front of the room and told to remove his shirt. The arm of the teacher was raised over the bent and trembling form of little Billy.

“HOLD IT. TEACHER!” shouted a husky voice from the rear of the room. It was Big Jim striding down the aisle removing his shirt as he came. “Let me take his whipp’n,” he begged.

The teacher was astonished, but knowing that justice must be demonstrated, he consented and laid the belt to the back of Big Jim with such force that even the stronger boy winced and his eyes watered.

                            But Billy never forgot the day that Big Jim took his place.

               That is what the Lord Jesus Christ did for us!

            The word “atonement” means “to cover.” The same Hebrew word that is translated “atonement” is also translated “mercy seat” and “purged.”

The New Testament word similar to this is the word “propitiation” which means “satisfaction.” The Greek word translated “propitiation” is also translated as “mercy seat” in Hebrews 9:5.

Atonement and propitiation both speak of the price which was demanded by God’s just law for man’s sin.

This should be a comforting thought to us when we remember how often and how greatly we have sinned, to know how infinitely holy God is, how He hates sin, and how His wrath has already been fully appeased in the shed blood of His own Son, the propitiation that He Himself provided.

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

It is the power of the blood that has given men the security of God’s mercy since sin arrived.

II.         THE BLOOD OF CHRIST HAS THE POWER TO SECURE FORGIVENESS FOR OUR SIN!

               (Ephesians 1:7; Psalm 32:1-2; Colossians 2:13)

Mark Twain said, “Forgiveness is the fragrance that the flower leaves on the heel of the one who crushed it.”

For the believer, forgiveness for sin is something that we already have, not something that we look forward to one day.

The blood of Christ secured it and our faith simply appropriates and enjoys it.

III.        THE BLOOD OF CHRIST HAS THE POWER TO CLEANSE THE BELIEVER FROM ALL SIN !

               (1 JOHN 1:7; ISAIAH 1:18; ROMANS 8:1, 33)

Martin Luther had a dream in which he stood on the day of judgment before God Himself–and Satan was there to accuse him.

When Satan opened his books full of accusations, he pointed to transgression after transgresion of which Luther was guilty. As the proceedings went on, Luther’s heart sunk in despair. Then he remembered the cross of Christ–and turning upon Satan, he said, “There is one entry which you have not made, Satan.”

               The Devil replied, “What is that?”

And Luther answered, “It is this–the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son cleanseth us from all sins.”

The blood of Christ has the power to cleanse us continuously, keeping us clean every minute of every hour of every day.

That cleansing is from the guilt of sin. When cleansing is mentioned in the Bible in connection with the blood, it is always cleansing from guilt.

IV.        THE BLOOD OF CHRIST HAS THE POWER TO JUSTIFY THE BELIEVER!(Romans 3:24-26; 5:9; 8:33)

Commentator William Barclay said this, “To say that God justifies the ungodly means quite simply that God in His amazing love treats the sinner as if he was a good man. Again, to put it very simply, God loves us, not for anything that we are, but for what He is.”

Forgiveness, though it is glorious, is a negative thing. It merely means that our sins are put away, and we are regarded as if we had not sinned.

Justification is positive. It means that we are counted as positively righteous. 2 Corinthians 5:21–“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

In shedding His blood as a penalty for sin, Christ took our place; when we believe in Him, we step into His place.

V.        THE BLOOD OF CHRIST HAS THE POWER TO CLEANSE THE CONSCIENCE FROM DEAD WORKS TO SERVE THE LIVING GOD. (Hebrews 9:14)

Hebrews 9:14–"How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?"

When a man awakens to the fact that he is a sinner and that God is holy, he feels that he must do something to please God and atone for sin.

               All of our self-efforts to please God and atone for sins are “dead works.”                

                They can never accomplish what they aim at and can never bring peace.

It is the power of the blood that washes away our sins and justifies us before God, making us pleasing and acceptable in God’s sight by reason of that shed blood, then our consciences are not only relieved from the burden of guilt, but also from the burden of our self-efforts.

We are now at liberty to serve the living God, not in the slavery of fear, but in the liberty of freedom and joy of those who know they are accepted and beloved sons.

The late Dr. J Vernon McGee once said this,

“There are only two kinds of religion in the world ... You can list every ‘ism,’ every cult, every religion in southern California under one category. They all say, ‘Do, do, do.’ Only Christianity says, ‘Done.’ Christ has done it all!”

Our religion is not one of what we must “do”, but what Christ has “done.”

               There are at least 3 kinds of people in the world:

1)    Those who love sin and don’t seem to be burdened by it at all. Understand they are burdened by it, but they are blind to the burden of it. Proverbs 4:19–“The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.”

2)    Those who are burdened by sin and seek to get rid of it by their own works.

3)    Those who saw the hideousness of sin and were burdened by it, but who have been brought to see the power of the blood, settling sin forever and putting it away. These serve out of joyous gratitude for what Christ has done.

VI.         THE BLOOD OF CHRIST HAS THE POWER TO REDEEM US.

               (Acts 20:28; Revelation 5:9; 1 Corinthians 6:19, 20)

Matthew 20:28–“Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

               A ransom is the price paid to secure someone’s release.

Hebrews 9:12– “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.”

               1 Peter 1:18ff

Acts 20:28–"Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood."

Revelation 5:9–"And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;"

1 Corinthians 6:19-20–“. . . and ye are not your own. For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."

An understanding of redemption is not necessary to salvation any more than an understanding of life is necessary before we can be born into it.

             But just how important is the matter of our redemption?

If we had the wisdom of Solomon, the patience of John, the meekness of Moses, the strength of Samson, the obedience of Abraham, the compassion of Joseph, the tears of Jeremiah, the poetic skill of David, the prophetic voice of Elijah, the courage of Daniel, the greatness of John the Baptist, the endurance and love of Paul, we would still need redemption through Christ's blood, the forgiveness of sin.

Because, the blood of Christ has the power to purchase us, that is, it has the power to makes us God’s own property.

A.        The Fact That The Blood Of Christ Has The Power To Redeem Us Should Bring Us A Feeling Of Responsibility.

If we belong to Him wholly--body, soul, and spirit--then we must be surrendered completely to Him.

                            Forgiveness is costly!

William Barclay is quoted as saying, “There is one eternal principle which will be valid as long as the world lasts. The principle is--Forgiveness is a costly thing. Human forgiveness is costly. A son or a daughter may go wrong; a father or a mother may forgive; but forgiveness has brought tears. ... There was the price of a broken heart to pay.”

Divine forgiveness is costly. God is love, but God is also holiness!

God, cannot and will not break the great moral laws on which the universe is built.

Sin must have its punishment or the very structure of life disintegrates. And God alone can pay the terrible price that is necessary before men can be forgiven.

Forgiveness is never a case of saying: "It's all right; it doesn't matter." Forgiveness is the most costly thing in the world.

So, The Fact That The Blood Of Christ Has The Power To Redeem Us Should Bring Us A Feeling Of Responsibility.

B.        The Fact That The Blood Of Christ Has The Power To Redeem Us Should Bring Us A Feeling Of Security.

God can take care of His own property. The blood of Christ has the power to make us eternally secure.

Dr. Charles Spurgeon said we should never forget the three “whats” of Redemption:

                          What from? Believers are redeemed from hell and destruction.

                          What by? By the precious blood of Christ.

What to? To an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that will not fade away.

VII.      THE BLOOD OF CHRIST HAS THE POWER TO GIVE THE BELIEVER BOLDNESS TO ENTER INTO THE HOLY PLACE, THE VERY PRESENCE OF GOD. (Hebrews 10:19-20)

Because of Jesus Christ’s shed blood, the vilest sinner who believes on Him has the right to approach God boldly, going into His very presence whenever he desires without fear, “in full assurance of faith.”

               (Hebrews 10:22)

Charles Spurgeon said about prayer:“Prayer pulls the rope below and the great bell rings above in the ears of God. Some scarcely stir the bell, for they pray so languidly. Others give but an occasional pluck at the rope. But he who wins with heaven is the man who grasps the rope boldly and pulls continuously, with all his might.”

VIII.    THE BLOOD OF CHRIST HAS THE POWER TO GIVE THOSE WHO BELIEVE IN HIM A RIGHT TO THE TREE OF LIFE AND ENTRANCE INTO THE CITY OF GOD.

               (Genesis 3:22-24; Revelation 22:14)

Genesis 3:22-24–"And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life."

Revelation 22:14–"Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city."

The blood of Christ regains all that Adam lost by sin and brings us much more than was lost.

The tree of life will grow in only two places, the garden of Eden and Heaven. Eden is gone. Heaven remains. If you want to rest beneath the shade of the tree of life, if you want to enjoy its fruits, there is only one place in which it can be done. The tree of life will not grow in the harsh climate of earth. It flourishes only in Heaven.

IX.        THE BLOOD OF CHRIST HAS THE POWER TO SANCTIFY US!

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

Sanctify = Set apart from sin unto the Lord for His particular purpose.

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NOTICE:   THESE SERMONS ARE FREE TO BE USED BUT ARE NOT TO BE SOLD!