2015.12.06_The Power of the Precious Blood
in 2015 Lord's Day, Ki Dong Kim
[Revelation 12:7-12]
God
is living.
He
sent His Son to the world (Jn 3:16)
to give His own blood (Jn 10:10).
God’s blood alone is His word (Jn 1:1).
Whoever transgresses against God, his spirit dies.
However
God showed that nothing but His blood
can save the spirit (Heb 9:14),
and the Son was thus sent to the world.
The Son
is God (Jn 1:18),
the Word of God (Jn 1:14),
His blood (Ac 20:28),
and the absolute power that overcomes the devil (Rev 12:11).
The devil is the enemy,
the messenger of hell,
the spirit that accuses the saints to the very end (Rev 12:10).
The Holy Spirit bears witness to the Blood,
and manifests Himself when there is the power of the Blood.
○ We became Christians
by the power of Jesus’ blood.
The blood of Jesus is life for our souls.
○ We became holy servants
by the power of Jesus’ blood.
The blood of Jesus is our divine power.
○ Our hope of entering Heaven
is in the words of Jesus’ blood.
The blood of Jesus leads us into eternal life.
※ The Holy Spirit manifests Himself
only where there is the precious blood of Jesus.
Let us accept the blood of Jesus and receive His power.
God is living. The fact that He is living is not just an idea but a reality. God is one and only. He is spirit and yet He has blood. It is logically incomprehensible that a spiritual being has blood. However, our faith is not about believing in common sense. God purchased us by His own blood and by that we have become the body of Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 9:22 says, “And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.” During the Old Testament times, the articles in the temple and the people were sanctified by sprinkling the blood of animals such as oxen or sheep. Today, our worship and praise to God as well as our service in the church cannot be consecrated without the sprinkling of blood. We escaped hell on account of the blood that was shed; we were also saved by the shedding of blood. Though we continue to sin, we have the confidence to stand before God because of the Lord’s precious blood.
We need to have God’s blood in our families. When Israel came out of Egypt, God commanded them to take a lamb and put its blood on the doorposts and lintels of the house where they were staying. God accepted only those who passed through the blood-stained door as His people and led them out into the desert. On that night, the angels of death passed through the land of Egypt and destroyed all the firstborns. However the families that had the blood escaped God’s wrath, as God said, “When I see the blood, I will pass over you” (Exo 12:13). What God is seeking is the Blood.
The devil is God’s enemy, the messenger of hell, the spirit that accuses the saints to the end. What is the reason that our spiritual life is a struggle? The devil is constantly at work to separate us from God. He is the ruler of the kingdom of the air. Ephesians 2:2 says, “In which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience”.
The devil can make us prosper in our flesh with the authority he has in the world. When he appeared before Jesus who had finished fasting and tempted Him saying, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me” (Matt 4:8-9), Jesus did not deny the fact that he could give all the glory of this world. The devil is the ruler of this world. He can help people become successful in the world. However, his final goal is to separate them from God.
When things do not seem to go well or some trouble comes upon their family, some people call for a shaman to perform exorcisms. And at times, they are relieved of their troubles or difficulties they were facing, but this is because a demon has gone in and started to work inside them. The deceiving spirits are the ones that work to let the demons enter a person. Deceiving spirits deceive people’s minds and cause them to despair, creating an opening for demons to go into them. Moreover, the devil separates man from God and dissuades them from relying on God, thus allowing the deceiving spirits to operate.
The devil is the one that torments people to the very end. The Bible says that the devil went to make war with those who have the testimony of Jesus Christ until the end (Rev 12:17). Revelations 12:9 says, “The great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world.” He is the one that comes in between God and mankind and separates them to destroy them.
The devil’s specialty is to condemn the believers. Some believers have faith in Jesus, and yet do not have joy in their souls. The primary reason for that is that their consciences are being condemned by the devil. Though we sinned, we have already received forgiveness. However the devil keeps condemning us saying, “No, you haven’t been forgiven. Your sin is too grave to be forgiven.” And those who are condemned by the devil are constantly anxious so that if their child happens to fall over, they think, is it because I sinned that this happened? When they struggle at work or their business is not doing well, they are constantly condemned in their hearts as if it is the result of their sins.
The reason a person is condemned is because he does not acknowledge the power of Jesus’ blood. The blood of Jesus has atoned for our sins perfectly. For the Israelites, they repeatedly shed the blood of sheep and oxen for 1500 years since the Exodus until they reached Jerusalem to escape from wrath. This was a type and shadow as a fleshly ordinance. The reality was revealed to the world when Jesus came to the earth, died and shed His blood on the cross. Though we are weak, we can stand boldly before God because we believe that Jesus’ blood has redeemed us.
The devil however does not stop accusing us saying, “You can’t be forgiven. You will never escape being cursed”, and thus denies the blood of Jesus. Sometimes when people hear that a certain person has received God’s grace, they refuse to accept that he has been forgiven saying, “How can a person like him ever receive God’s grace? That’s impossible!” In doing so, they unknowingly deny the power of Jesus’ blood just like the devil. We must acknowledge that the power the precious blood can forgive all of our sins, no matter how grave they might be.
It is not possible for the Holy Spirit to operate where the power of the Blood is ignored. The Holy Spirit had never come upon anyone in Israel when they relied on the blood of animals. It was only after Jesus died and shed His blood on the cross, resurrected and ascended into Heaven that the Holy Spirit finally came upon us (Jn 7:37-39). The Holy Spirit manifests Himself where there is the Blood. He governs the Church also because the souls redeemed by God’s blood are in the Church.
The Holy Spirit comes where there is the blood of Jesus. Acts 2:38 says, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Baptism is about uniting ourselves with the blood of Jesus. Where there is the blood of Jesus, there the Holy Spirit operates. And only when there is the working of the Holy Spirit, can we drive away the works of the devil. Therefore it is imperative that we have the faith to trust in the blood of Jesus in order to overcome the works of the devil.
The devil will condemn us to the end saying, “You’re a sinner. You can’t be saved. You have to be cursed to pay the price of your sins”. The way to overcome this is to trust in the blood of Jesus. Apart from the sin of denying God, by the blood of Jesus we can be forgiven of all sins such as any trespassing against the Law or breaking the laws of this world.
The devil’s goal is to make us deny the power of the Lord’s precious blood. He targets our conscience to weaken us and lose our joy. Christians lose their joy because they do not have faith in the blood of Jesus. We must trust in Jesus’ blood. We are the one who believe in God’s blood, who have been saved by the Blood, and who have the word of testimony of the Blood (Rev 12:11).
What is evangelism about? It is about proclaiming the blood that Jesus Christ shed (1 Cor 11:26). We were redeemed from sin because He shed His blood. It is all because of His blood that we became Christians, sanctified and God’s children. Those empowered by the blood of Jesus Christ must testify of the Blood to others.
The Holy Spirit manifests Himself to those who believe in Jesus’ blood. Though many Christians desire to be filled by the Holy Spirit, they cannot actually receive His help because they do not trust in Jesus’ blood. God bestows the grace of forgiveness upon those who believe in Jesus’ blood, pours the Holy Spirit upon the forgiven, and manifests the powers of the Holy Spirit such as speaking in tongues, visions and healing. Whoever wants to be healed of their sickness must also rely on the Blood. The saints will also be raised at the resurrection by the Holy Spirit (Rom 8:11).
Nothing but the blood of Jesus moves the Holy Spirit to work. As the voice of the blood of Abel cried out towards Heaven, our prayers too should be the voice of the Blood that cries out and reaches Heaven. Our worship and praise to God, serving and performing our duties at church should all be the voice of the Blood. Every act of our faith life should be our confession the power of the precious blood.
It all happened so quickly – trees are no longer dressed in a golden tessellation, and there is but the gush of crisp cold air to flush my lungs. My body is wasting away, and my strength is failing. It seems like it was only yesterday that I received my calling to be an evangelist, but here I am, now standing at the foot of a path so clear. Though I’ve laid down the weighty responsibilities of a pastor, I make the most of what I have left, my voice and my lips, I will use them. I will do all that I must with these God-given gifts. My lifelong regret is to know that my youth was absent of much education. “If only I had studied more, read more. How great would that have been?” In those days I had nothing; only the hope of Heaven that came from Jesus. Thus, I have nothing to boast while cloaked by this fog of regret. The only reason why I am who I am today is because of my initial experience with Jesus, the incredible power of His blood and the light that He shines. This is my life-long testimony, the power by which I have lived. I have been set free from the chains of sin, and have been given the righteousness of faith, and joy in the depths of my soul. If it weren’t for Jesus’ blood, I would have slipped into the endless vault of sin, and become swallowed into the accusations of the Devil, whereby my weak conscience would have been cursed. There is but one means by which I can live, and that is to bear witness to Jesus’ blood. It is essentially my life, though, in fact, greater. His blood is the word of my testimony, and it has made my ministry complete. There is no ministry, no prayer without this blood, and indeed, there is no freedom for spirits that do not have the mark of Jesus’ blood. The Holy Spirit works only in accordance to how much we testify to the blood of Jesus, and for this, I give thanks. The blood of Jesus! My faltering lips are not worthy in the testimony of God’s great gifts, His life, salvation, grace and the blood that becomes a source of blessings for all. My days aren’t many, but I must testify to this blood without suppression. By the power of the blood of Jesus, I have come to know God, and by the same blood, I have been redeemed from the grasp of sin, and elected as a servant of God. Back when I was primarily focused on preaching crusades, I had purely proclaimed the blood of Jesus in testimony and praise. How can this change? Indeed, it will not. The blood that Jesus came to testify of is equally our testimony. This is our victory and power. God gave us the blood of Jesus and it is the sign that reveals that we have seen and met the living God. I will proclaim this wondrous power, the wonders of Jesus’ blood. Forever, it is my testimony. Pastor Ki-Dong Kim
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Outline and Summary translated by Sarah Nam Chief Editor: Helen Nam
Ministry is the work of helping people participate in the drinking and singing of Jesus’ blood. Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you… unless you drink [my] blood, there is no life in you”. In hearing this, many of Jesus’ disciples refused to accept His message, and fled. However, we are people who believe. We believe the words of Jesus.
Lord’s Day Worship Column
Letter translated by Jeremy Kim
Interpretations by Sarah Nam
Korean Summary by Ki-Taek Lee