Power in the Blood #2

Trust in the blood of Christ. When you send trust in the blood of Christ. When you are confessing your sin. Trust in Christ to be that which washes you and causes God to remember your sins and lawless deeds no more teaching God's people. God's word. This is the truth pulpit with Don Green founding pastor of truth Community Church in Cincinnati Ohio I bill right and today as Don continues in a series called reflections on our Lord will wrap up his look at the power of the shed blood of Jesus Christ and all that it affords the believer if you got your Bible ready, let's get started here is done with the second half of the message called power in the blood. Here on the truth pulpit seen that already the power of the blood to preserve the power to plead.

Thirdly, we see this we see the power of the blood to renew us the power of the blood to renew us. There is a sense in which this is this is active in the room even as were speaking here today as our hearts are being refreshed and encourage and strengthen in remembering what our Lord has done for us on our behalf.

It has power to renew us. It has power to bring back life and vitality to our dry and withered souls is the only place where that refreshing water can be found if the truth be told, the blood shows forth the saving mercy and love of God, you're in the book of Romans look over chapter 5 with me. Romans chapter 5 verses six through 11. The Bible says this speaking to believers in Christ while we were still helpless at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one, will hardly die for a righteous man, though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates his own love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us, much more than having now been justified by his blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through him once we've been saved once we've been justified, how much more will the blood of veil to sanctify and keep us is the point.

He says in verse 10 for if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of his son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by his life and not only this, but we also exalting God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. Paul is looking back to the former life of believers showing what the blood of Christ has accomplished on their behalf. And it's good for you to mark these terms in the text so that they always jump out to you when you were outside of Christ before God saved you. Verse six, you were helpless you were ungodly. Verse eight you were a sinner and beloved. The point is is that while you were like that. God saved you by the blood of Christ while you were helpless, ungodly and a sinner. God did that for you will having now reconciled. You don't you see that once you have been brought into his family. How much more abundant. The grace must be if he is reconciled you and is satisfied in Christ with you, then isn't it obvious that there is an enduring power and enduring renewal and enduring grace that belongs to all who are in Christ. It could be no other way.

Why, if he did not turn against you when you were an enemy ungodly and helpless. If he reached to you then why would he turn away from you.

Now that you have been justified, redeemed, reconciled, forgiven, made holy, purified and sanctified, why would he do that. How can that possibly be consistent with the loving eternal purpose that he manifested at the cross of Christ.

I make the argument with exuberance so that the force of the truth of Scripture would go deeply into your heart to understand, we all have those remnants of Adam that are tempted to doubt and distrust the purposes of God to wonder what he's really like toward us. Well, the blood of Christ gives you the answer to that question. It shows forth his saving mercy. One look blood. Just one look at the cross of Christ is enough to establish in your heart for all time that his love for you is sincere. It is genuine it is everlasting. Spurgeon says this, there is no nature so stubborn that a slide of the love of God in Christ Jesus cannot melted. If grace would open the blind eye to see Christ sinner, if God will lead you to believe in Christ to save you if you will trust your soul in his hands to have it saved that hard heart of yours will melt at once.

He loved us, even when we were dead in sins. Surely this will prove that Christ was exalted on high to give repentance and remission of sins come for repentance.

If you cannot come repenting come for a broken heart. If you cannot come with one come to be melted. If you are not melted."

The blood of Christ has the power to renew you and my unsaved friend, the blood of Christ has power today to save you just like it did me. Fourthly, the blood has the power to bring peace. The blood has power to bring peace the blood of Christ were starting to overlap our themes now. The blood of Christ has achieved peace and reconciliation on our behalf. If you are a Christian, my friend. The blood has achieved peace and reconciliation for you.

For you it is achieved that it is accomplished, he said on the cross is finished, which suggests that everything that was necessary had been done in his atoning death. You're in Romans five look up to the first two verses with me were Paul says therefore, having been justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand and we exalted in hope of the glory of God. You see there the power to bring peace. There is objective piece of which Paul is speaking here we been justified and therefore God's no longer at war with us because the rebellion has been overturned, but there is also the sense of subjective peace that belongs to us suggested by the end of verse two, when he says we exalted in hope of the glory of God. Beloved, when you have fallen short again turn to the blood again when you know that you have fallen short.

Look to the blood and let me give you a major hit a major insight specially for you newer Christians that are with us here today. Let me drive this point home as clearly as I possibly can.

When you have stumbled and fallen along the way understand this, that resolving to try harder will not bring comfort to your soul. Simply say now I'm going to try harder. That's not going to comfort your soul. Only the blood can comfort your soul when you're conscious of your guilt again. Spurgeon says this when I felt the burden of my sin. I do confess all the preaching I ever heard never gave me one single atom of comfort. I was told to do this and to do that and when I had done it all. I had not advanced 1 inch. The farther I thought. I must feel something or pray a certain quantity and when I had done that the burden was quite as heavy lot of you know all about that, don't you. Those of you raised in legalistic environments. Spurgeon goes on to say, but the moment I saw that there was nothing whatever for me to do that. Jesus did it, long, long ago, and that he suffered.

All I ought to have suffered. Why then my heart had peace with God.

Peace by believing peace through the precious blood. Blood has the power to restore your troubled soul. Nothing else has power like that.

Well, fifthly the blood has power to give us access the power for access by this by access I mean this. The blood of Christ gives us permanent irrevocable and immediate access to the presence of God, permanent, irrevocable and immediate access to the presence of God. Those who belong to Christ have permanent immediate irrevocable access to his presence.

We looked at this text, last time turn again to Hebrews chapter 10 Hebrews chapter 10 verse 17. Actually, it started in verse 12 where it says Christ, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God.

He sat down because the work was done based on that work.

God says in verse 17 he says their sins and their lawless deeds. I will remember no more. That where there is forgiveness of these things there is no longer any offering for sin, trust my friends trust in the blood of Christ. When you send trust in the blood of Christ. When you are confessing your sin. Trust in Christ to be that which washes you and causes God to remember your sins and lawless deeds no more your guilty feelings, add nothing to the value of the blood of Christ, the blood of Christ alone is the price of atonement and it is the blood of Christ that gives you access to a holy God.

Look at verse 19. Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus by a new and living way which he inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. God says to you that in Christ. I will remember your sins and lawless deeds no more as you go to him the way that you honor him is by believing that promise trusting in that promise and pouring your heart out believing on the basis of the word of God, not on your feelings believing on the basis of the word of God, not on your feelings that he receives you well when you're appealing to him in the blood of Jesus Christ. This changes this changes life. This changes life. There's not some kind of probationary period after you send, where where you have to wait three, five, 10 days wait for your guilty feelings to die down before we can gingerly reapproach the presence of God know the blood gives you access the blood gives you access what God calls for is not this this false penitence what he calls for his faith in the blood, believing the promise believe that he who promised that he will remember your sins and lawless deeds no more is faithful to do that.

Father, I send again I come to you in the blood of Christ again. I don't feel good about this. I don't feel holy but I'm trusting in what you said in your word that you receive me on the basis of Christ and because of that father here I am here.

I pray here I hear I rest in you only the blood can do that for us, remember that the Old Testament high priest could only enter the holy place once a year you and I in Christ. We've been given open Access to enjoy with confidence. Our father hears us. And he answers our prayers.

And when we ask for bread, he doesn't give us a stone.

When we ask for a fish, he doesn't give us a snake when we ask for forgiveness of our sins, he doesn't say no when were asking in the name and in the shed blood of Christ, we had this access again.

Spurgeon puts it well. He says and I quote, I am persuaded some of us do not come near to God because we forget the blood. If you try to have fellowship with God. Based on your graces, your experiences, your believing, you will fail. But if you try to come near to God as you stand in Christ Jesus you will have courage to come and God will run to meet you when he sees you in the face of his anointed praise. The blood than for its power of giving you nearness to God. There's one more. It's the power to overcome the power to overcome.

Scripture promises us that the God who began a work in us will complete it. You know, Philippians 16 we've quoted it and taught on it many times from this pulpit. Paul said I'm confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus elsewhere.

The Bible attributes the certainty of perseverance to the ongoing power of the shed blood of Jesus Christ. In other words, the one whom God saves. God keeps all the way to the end and that there are no exceptions. Everyone that God saved by the blood of Christ is kept by that same blood of Christ until they are safe in heaven is on the basis of the shed blood that we have access, it's on the basis of the shed blood that we persevere not in the strength of our own merit. If it depended on you. If your salvation depended for one moment on your strength on your perseverance. You would fall out of Christ, never to be recovered again. None of us persevere by our own power.

None of us live a perfect Christian life. And so it could never possibly be that our ability to persevere is what ultimately guarantees it all were commanded to persevere, but the underlying power of that the underlying source that makes that certain is the precious blood of Christ, it has the power to overcome go back to the book of Revelation chapter 1 Scripture attributes the certainty of perseverance to the ongoing power of the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Look at verse four, chapter 1 John to the seven churches that are in Asia. Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come from the seven spirits who are before his throne and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

To him who loves us and released us from our sins by his blood and is made us to be a kingdom of priests to his God and father to him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever.

Amen from God's perspective and in final ultimate reality when you truly trust the blood of Christ, you are saved and you cannot no defeat. Revelation chapter 12 verse 10 Revelation 12 verse 10 then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down.

He who accuses them before our God day and night and they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.

They overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb. Satan himself was arrayed against them.

Satan himself was inflicting martyrdom as the judgments of God were being poured down, the people of God overcame it all. This is been the testimony of the people of God. Since the shed blood of Christ throughout the martyrs preferred death. They preferred spilling their own blood to denying the blood of Christ and what sustained them was that very blood that they refused to deny the blood saves us the blood keeps us the blood will deliver us to heaven in the end, Spurgeon gives us a closing encouragement and exhortation here to little bit lengthy the blood of Jesus. Sin dies at its presence.

Death ceases to be death hell itself would be dried up. If that blood could operate their the blood of Jesus. My doubts and fears flee my troubles and disasters disappear. The blood of Jesus. Shall I not go on conquering and to conquer. So long as I can plead that in heaven. This shall be the choice jewelweed shall glitter upon the head of Jesus that he gives to his people, victory, victory, victory through the blood of the Lamb. He goes on to say and now is this blood to be had, cannot be got at yes yes it is free, free to every soul that believes whoever cares to calm and trust in Jesus, shall find virtue of this blood applied to his case this very morning away with your own works in doings turn those eyes of yours to the full atonement made to the utmost ransom paid. And if God enables you poor soul to say I take that precious blood to be my only hope.

If you do that you are saved and you may sing with the rest of us.

God granted it may be so, for his namesake amen and" were privileged to remember that precious blood of the lamb spilled on our behalf as we take the elements. The bread reminds us of his body. The cup reminds us of his shed blood. We invite every repentant believer in Christ who trusts the shed precious blood to share these elements with us, but a word of caution, a word of request and entreaty if you're not a believer in Christ. If you are not repentant.

If you don't view this blood is precious from the depths of your heart.

Then let the elements pass, it would be better for you not to take them just let them quietly pass by you. While the rest of us remember that blood which is more precious to us than life.

That's done green and you're listening to the truth. Pulpit friend if you'd like to find out more about this ministry, including how you can support it with your tax-deductible donation. We invite you to visit the truth.

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Here's Don to tell us about a special upcoming event, let's write Bill, my friend.

I want to extend a special invitation to you to join us for a special evening with John MacArthur Tuesday, May 17 on the campus of Northern Kentucky University which is just minutes north of downtown Cincinnati. John will be with us live and in person be wonderful music and warm fellowship with thousands of believers from all over the country. Here's all you need to do to attend. Go to our website by April 30. Truth Community Church.org and register for your free tickets. The tickets are no cost to you but you must register to attend. That's May 17 with John MacArthur.

Register by April 30 at our website. Truth Community Church.org. I look forward to seeing you there. Thanks God and friend will continue our series called reflections on our Lord.

Next time, as done green continues teaching God's people. God's word around the crew