Part 3
“Pleading the Blood”
Is it possible as Christians in this day and age to actually live in Victory? I’m not talking about an occasional visit but to reside there moment by moment. The answer my dear friend is yes…emphatically yes! But only if we learn how to speak the word, claim the name and plead the blood.
Whether we recognize it or not, there are unseen evil forces around us at all times. These evil forces, though unseen, are certainly not unreal! The devil is alive and well on planet earth. And whether you're a strong or a weak Christian or perhaps even not a believer at all, he wants you. The world is constantly trying to beat us down as believers. The flesh is trying to get us to yield. And it is the stated and very evident goal of the devil to steal, kill and destroy every last thread of happiness and security you and I enjoy. But God’s way is absolutely the opposite. God desires that we discover a positive life…a contented life and a happy life! In order to do this we must have a workable strategy. There are three very important principles found in the Word of God for over 40 years in my own personal life that I have used to gain victory. Have I always lived in victory? No…but, whenever I applied these insights they work! Let’s review and then we will push forward with our final point:
1. Speak the Word
When you speak the word you take authority. There is no condition we face where we cannot exercise the power of God. You “speak the word” when you take your Bible and actually speak out loud a promise that has application. We are told by Paul that, “…Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God,” Romans 10:17 Therefore I've got to speak it. There are at least three audiences when we speak the Word – there is of course the Lord, He loves it when His Word is spoken back to Him. Then there is the devil and all of his unseen imps and then there's myself.
2. Claim the Name
This is intentionally affirming where we stand. We as weak humans, are often confused about which direction to go in life. And the devil is sure to make us even more confused, but God has not, “…given us a spirit of fear but of love, power and of a sound mind.” 2 Tim. 1:7 If we don’t have a stable mind we’re sure to be easy pickings for the devil. We need to learn how to pledge our loyalty to God. If we don’t proclaim our intentions openly we will a sitting duck for every evil work. In this world of “tolerance” talking God calls us to make a declaration. We don’t have to be unkind about it but we certainly have to be adamant about it.
And now let’s find out how to take the third and final step:
3. Plead the Blood
This is a confident satisfaction. I tell you, and you know this to be true, the devil is constantly shaking us down. He is trying to shake us from our moorings in Christ Jesus. He's trying to get us to just cast off everything we know about our faith and be at drift out there in the world. If we’re going to exercise power over the condemnation of the devil we’ve got to rest in the wonderful satisfaction that the blood of Jesus has washed us from every sin. When you plead the blood you are announcing to the devil, and even to us, that the blood of Jesus can cover any sin.
God tells us to rest in the power of the blood and He will rid us of the condemnation of the devil. It is a terrible thing to feel condemnation. I'm not talking about conviction, that’s a wonderful thing to feel. For example: feeling convicted during a bible sermon is not especially fun, but it's wonderful. You ought to thank God if you still feel touched. It’s not a good place to be when we become so calloused that we can just live our lives without ever being convicted. But condemnation is when the devil is beating you up and telling you that you are not forgiven or maybe that you’re not even saved.
Condemnation is terrible as it robs you of your joy and happiness. The answer is the blood of Jesus! Why does God talk about the blood so much in the bible? From the very first chapters of Genesis all the way to the last chapter of Revelation God refers to the blood. Why do believers sing songs about the blood? Why do Christians get excited about the blood? What does it mean to confidently rest in the blood of Jesus?
There are at least six wonderful results of pleading the blood of Jesus:
1. His Blood REDEEMS Us
Without question, every human that is honest with himself knows that each one of us have repeatedly broken the moral law of God. To deny this fact is to deceive ourselves. Each of us has broken the moral law of God. I don’t think we need to innumerate those laws but you can find them easily by going to Exodus 20 and many other places in both the Old and New Testament. Everyone that has ever lived is guilty of breaking the moral law of God. The price of sin is very high. So high in fact, none can pay it but Jesus. And He has paid it and done so in full, “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:” 1 Peter 1:18 When I was growing up if a person had a million dollars that was a lot of money! Today we have billionaires and all though there are not a lot of them, there are more all the time. Have you ever wondered how much a billion dollars actually is and how difficult it would be to spend a billion dollars? Someone calculated how long it would take to spend a billion dollars in 25 years. You would have to spend $40 million a year or $2 million a month. That amounts to $100,000 a day to get rid of a billion dollars in 25 years. The richest man in the world is a business tycoon from Mexico, whose name is Carlos Slim and he has $66 billion in net worth. They calculated how long it would take Carlos to spend all of his money in 25 years. You would have to spend $7 million dollars a day! If you spent 7 million dollars a day for 25 years you would’ve spent it all. Listen to me though…can you imagine what it would be like to have $66 billion dollars and yet not able to buy even one soul. There's nothing wrong with having a billion dollars or even 66 billion, but the truth is it is perishable. A human soul is something that is never dying and the only payment of enough worth is the blood of Jesus. The blood of Christ can buy a soul because it is an immortal thing and it takes innocent, immortal blood to be able to redeem that soul.
2. His Blood RECONCILES Us
That is, it makes peace with God. The blood of Jesus reconciles man with God. In his very nature man is at war with God. Why is it that these precious little babies of ours grow up and have a sin nature? In my case I’m sure they inherited that from their mom! Honestly, I look at those little people as they start throwing their first little selfish fits at age 6-7 months or earlier and realize that man is at war with God.
God says, “You're at war with me but I’m willing to make peace. The conditions are nonnegotiable. The only thing that will satisfy is a payment of blood.” Thank God that Christ did that, “And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.” Colossians 1:20
The major nations of this world are constantly trying to figure out some sort of nuclear deal in order to keep from blowing each other up. Each country has demands. God states that there's only one thing He will accept and that is blood. In Leviticus God declares that blood atonement is necessary because life is in the blood (Lev. 17:11). Think for a moment of the most despicable person you could imagine. Maybe you’ve known them personally and maybe you haven’t. Who has done the greatest atrocities? Who has hurt the most people? Think of that person…now imagine this, God said that the blood of the cross could reconcile even him or her. If they repent they could have a home in eternity forever!
This tells me then that if a person goes to hell, it's because they decided to do so…they could’ve gone to heaven. God offered freely to them the blood of Jesus as full payment for sin.
Have you ever gotten a bottle of soda and read on it, “redemption value 5 cents?” There is some value…5 whole cents! But when it comes to the redemption of a soul ONLY blood (that is death) will suffice. Some bible teachers have defined atonement as: at-one-ment. In order to become one with God it takes blood. God is willing to deal with mankind in mercy because of the blood of Jesus.
So then, when I'm pleading the blood over my life, I am at peace in my soul because I know God is ok with me. The devil can’t use my past sins to create worry.
3. His Blood REINSTATES Us
Even more than knowing that all is forgiven, it brings us into fellowship with God. “But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.” Ephesians 2:13 Before a man or woman is born again they are far, far away from God. But when they take Christ as Savior they become close to God…all by the blood of Christ. At salvation I can even become the friend of God. Wow, think of it…God’s friend! Pleading the blood gives me a new friend – the best friend any one could have!
Nobody is born liking God. People may say they like God or are “spiritual” but really they are not. The Bible boldly declares that no man has ever yet been a God seeker, “There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.” Romans 3:11 The fact is, if God didn’t love us first we would never have loved Him! No man seeks the Lord because seeking the Lord means seeking for righteousness. And that would be like a criminal seeking for a policeman…no, a criminal seeks other criminals. But, we because of the blood of Jesus, have been given a desire to seek God.
Nobody loves the Bible until they get saved through the blood of Christ. A person may put up with the Bible or they may get a little fuzzy feeling by getting into the Bible, but nobody really loves it until salvation. Nobody loves church until they get born again. They may like the form of prayer, but not one lost person truly wants to meet a holy God in prayer. But when they become a believer all the sudden they get a new joy in spiritual disciplines. The beloved Apostle John remarked how dear even the laws of the bible had become to him, “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.” 1 John 5:3 We don’t like the law, we don’t like the Bible, we don’t like God, we don’t like church, we don’t like prayer because we’re not under the blood. But once you reconcile to God through the blood of Jesus Christ, all of the sudden there's a new desire! I love coming to church, I love singing, I love reading the Bible, I love praying, I love taking money out of my wallet and giving it…I don’t know what’s gotten into me!
I read a fascinating CNN news article that illustrates what I’m saying: “When police found the unconscious man in a Southern California Motel 6, the IDs on him said he was Michael Thomas Boatwright from Florida. But when the man awoke…a few days later, he said he'd never heard of Boatwright. And he didn't speak a word of English. The man said his name was Johan Ek. And he said it in Swedish…”
That is real strange…but that’s kind of like what happens as we claim the blood. Being born again and knowing it changes the way do life. All of the sudden, even though we may look the same, we have this whole new language, whole new desire, new principles, new goals…everything changes! The reason we are transformed is because have been spending time with our new friend – Jesus. And thanks be to God, which is rubbing off on us.
4. His Blood REFRESHES Us
One of the most amazing aspects of “claiming the blood” is the cleansing affect it has on the spirit, and even on the body. The blood of Jesus is more powerful than any sin or mistake, “… and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7 Yes…ALL sin (by the way, this verse illustrates one more reason I love the King James Version, because it gives us the proper tense of the verbs – “cleanseth”, that is, it is currently cleansing and keeps cleansing as long as I live…and more)! Confused people sometimes think they might have lost their salvation after a regretful misdeed. No…the blood cleanses all sin and then keeps cleansing.
When I was a teenage boy I didn’t really bathe like I should’ve (I know…eeeew). But I became aware of the fact that at times I didn’t smell really good, so I came up with a solution – I would put on a generous amount of cologne as I didn’t “have time to bath.” Now, to me that reminds me of the human condition. Mankind looks at their lives and says to themselves, “I'm not a very good person really…I'm very impatient, I'm angry and I have lustful thoughts. I know what I’ll do, I’ll start going to church and I’ll get baptized.” But all that does is mask the sin. But Jesus refreshes every repentant heart with the satisfaction of being genuinely clean.
Once we have come to Him in honesty and sincerity and in humility and in brokenness and once we have honestly said to God, “I have sinned against you. I don’t blame my wife, I don’t blame my children, I don’t blame my boss, I don’t blame society, I don’t blame my parents…it's me. I realize I've broken your laws. I am a lost guilty sinner, forgive me.” And that very moment He cleanses us, it is gone and it stays gone.
5. His Blood REINFORCES Us
The devil wants to make sure that we don’t rejoice in our forgiveness. He wants us to hold back and keep us down. He loves it when we are negative and beating ourselves up all the time. We need some help against all that he throws at us, “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.” Revelation 12:11 Here comes some reinforcements…praise God! Claiming the blood through salvation and reminding the devil of that fact wins against his fiery darts. The devil does not want you to learn about the blood of Jesus. The devil does not want your church to sing about the blood of Jesus. The devil does not want the people of God to have a Bible that has the cleansing blood of Jesus in it.
God's Word is full of the blood. A crucified Savior is mentioned in Genesis (Gen. 3:15) and continues to be a recurring theme throughout scripture, all the way to the last chapter of Revelation. No wonder churches are now finding themselves under attack and criticism for being too literal. The devil does not God’s people claiming the blood. It is the blood of Jesus that gives us the power over Satan. It is because of the death, burial and the resurrection of Jesus Christ that we have the power over Satan. He is a defeated foe…he could not keep Jesus in the grave! He cannot have power over us unless we let him, because the resurrected Christ lives in me.
Satan’s only power over the Christian’s spirit is suggestion. He can’t make me sin. His proposals are powerful to be sure. God reminds His children to defend their spirits with the helmet of salvation or else Satan is going to get inside your brain. He is going to put a demonic “earworm” in there. That earworm, like a TV commercial jingle you can’t get out of your head, is going to tell you aren’t any good, you're nothing, you’re sinful and that is likely you are not even a Christian. Or, that if you were a believer you aren’t anymore.
Through claiming His blood, I no longer am under the power and laws of the devil, “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” Romans 6:14 Thank God the law of sin no longer has any power over me as I am now under the power of grace (that is, the gift of God’s strength).
We were in the Philippines with friends who were born and raised there. But when he joined the U.S. Navy both he and his wife eventually became naturalized citizens of the United States of America. They do not hold dual citizenship, they became citizens only of the United States. They were born Filipino, they were raised Filipino, they speak the language, nearly all their family is in the Philippines, but they are actually living in a foreign country over their now because they are citizens of the United States. That gives them a lot of power and immunity as they have the backing and protection of the United States. They have been delivered from the laws of the country they were born into. The day that you and I got born again we became a citizens of heaven. We are delivered from the laws of darkness. We are no longer bound by this worlds draw. We overcame Satan when we claimed the blood in salvation but also as we proclaim it openly in our world.
I don’t believe anybody should bypass their sin and should act like it's not an issue. But once it has been sincerely and genuinely repented of, forgiveness sought out and restitution has been started then beating yourself up is not going to do anybody any good. It doesn’t do any good to yourself or anybody else. All you do is just rob everybody of a joyful person. My children need a dad who has victory over the devil, they don’t need a dad who’s all beaten up and constantly down on themselves. God wants His children to be positive. He wants us to be the kind of people who say to the world, “Jesus has washed my sins away. I'm good because Jesus has made me good. I'm happy because Jesus has made me happy. I'm on top because Jesus made me on top. I'm in victory because Jesus made me have victory. I'm winning because Jesus is making me win, it's not because of me, it's because of the blood of Jesus!”
6. His Blood REASSURES Us
Have any of you ever been to court where an accused person had to stand in front of the judge? I have done so personally. It was for a minor traffic event that I thought was off base. I can remember standing there literally shaking with nervousness…and that was for a minor ticket! Imagine with me what it's going to be like standing in the courtroom of the sky, after we have exited this world and stand before a holy God. Every one of us will give account of himself to God. Maybe that’s why John uses a courtroom scene to illustrate the power of the blood, “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:” 1 John 2:1 John reminded the saints to reassure themselves with some essential facts when they stand before the righteous Judge someday:
# 1) You have an Advocate, which is a lawyer. You will not to stand before God alone. And, not only do you have an advocate but you have an advocate who loves you. In fact, he's married to you. His very name says that He loves guilty people, Jesus – Jehovah Saves. There are no skeletons in His closet. It's not going to come out that your advocate is disqualified because He was doing something wrong behind the scenes.
# 2) The courtroom is actually a mercy seat. Yes, it's a courtroom, but if you will look closer you will notice that the penalty has been paid. Even though you and I were unable to pay, in a great act of mercy the account has been settled.
# 3) The judge is your father. Now it would seem if you were ever going to get mercy from the court this would be the time, as the presiding judge is your own dad.
# 4) The case is already settled. Not because the lawyer is not pleading my innocence, he's pleading His innocence. The lawyer isn’t coming before the father and saying, “this man is innocent – no, he's saying he is guilty but I'm willing to take his place.”
I will promise you the devil will do everything in his power, every waking minute and in the middle of the night to try and make you feel like you're lost. He wants God’s children to quit reading their Bible and praying. But I am here to tell you that the blood of Jesus says keep on going…keep on serving God! Plead the blood! When Satan comes against you and tries to tell you that you on your way to hell so you might as well give up, or if he lies and says to your heart that the blood of Jesus can't cleanse your sin, I'm here to say “plead the blood!”
