I love this CS Lewis thought. I think you will, too.
**********************
Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Friday, September 10, 2010
What Kind of Kingdom is this?
Luke was a Gentile in love with Jesus Christ. With that in mind I am rereading his Gospel. What drew his attention? What excited him so much about his Jesus?
As I read I saw he used the phrase, "The Kingdom of God," more than forty times! Luke also saw the believers as children of their Heavenly Father, a family of love and unity. But he was intrigued by the center phrase of Jesus' prayer, "Thy kingdom come on earth as in heaven."
I began to ponder this Kingdom. It take some doing to think of a world-view that defines a kingdom as having no borders, no common culture, no army, no Parliament, no courts, no common language or culture, no man-made Constitution, no book on parliamentary procedures, a kingdom in which the greater serve the least, in which enemies are loved, not destroyed, where forgiveness, humility and heart-felt love are the prime virtues and where faith in the Lord Jesus Christ make all things possible.
This is a strange kingdom where the King, instead of asking his subjects to die for him, leaves his throne and dies himself, on the Cross, so that they can be near him now and forever. Our King wears a crown of thorns. He reigns in grace and truth.
This morning I see in my mind's eye this amazing Kingdom spread across our planet. I have had the privilege of getting to know brothers and sisters in more cultures than I can count. They have the same stamp on them, they are citizens of the Kingdom of God, as I, by grace, am. That is our nation. That is our "land." That is the most dramatic display of God's grace imaginable - a new thing that spreads and flourishes by the power of the Holy Spirit alone.
Thank you, Dr. Luke, for introducing us to the essence of Jesus' Kingdom that continues to amaze and thrill.
As I read I saw he used the phrase, "The Kingdom of God," more than forty times! Luke also saw the believers as children of their Heavenly Father, a family of love and unity. But he was intrigued by the center phrase of Jesus' prayer, "Thy kingdom come on earth as in heaven."
I began to ponder this Kingdom. It take some doing to think of a world-view that defines a kingdom as having no borders, no common culture, no army, no Parliament, no courts, no common language or culture, no man-made Constitution, no book on parliamentary procedures, a kingdom in which the greater serve the least, in which enemies are loved, not destroyed, where forgiveness, humility and heart-felt love are the prime virtues and where faith in the Lord Jesus Christ make all things possible.
This is a strange kingdom where the King, instead of asking his subjects to die for him, leaves his throne and dies himself, on the Cross, so that they can be near him now and forever. Our King wears a crown of thorns. He reigns in grace and truth.
This morning I see in my mind's eye this amazing Kingdom spread across our planet. I have had the privilege of getting to know brothers and sisters in more cultures than I can count. They have the same stamp on them, they are citizens of the Kingdom of God, as I, by grace, am. That is our nation. That is our "land." That is the most dramatic display of God's grace imaginable - a new thing that spreads and flourishes by the power of the Holy Spirit alone.
Thank you, Dr. Luke, for introducing us to the essence of Jesus' Kingdom that continues to amaze and thrill.
Monday, August 23, 2010
God's marvelous power to deliver, often unseen
I enjoy reading Wesley's beautiful hymns. This morning he impressed me to praise God for his delivering power. As I look back over my life, and even today, I realize that the Lord sees where I am and keeps me, in my weakness, from falling. I find this refreshing and an insight into how His marvelous grace works.
Here are two verses from a 4 verse hymn.
Hymn 238
3
By our bosom-foe beset,
Taken in the fowler's net,
Passion's unresisting prey,
Oft within the toils we lay:
Sleeping on the brink of sin,
Tophet gaped to take us in;
Mercy to our rescue flew,
Broke the snare, and brought us through.
4
Here, as in the lion's den,
Undevoured we still remain;
Pass secure the watery flood,
Hanging on the arm of God:
Here we raise our voices higher,
Shout in the refiner's fire;
Clap our hands amidst the flame,
Glory give to Jesu's name.
(I understand that Tophet was a place near Jerusalem where refuge burned.)
Here are two verses from a 4 verse hymn.
Hymn 238
3
By our bosom-foe beset,
Taken in the fowler's net,
Passion's unresisting prey,
Oft within the toils we lay:
Sleeping on the brink of sin,
Tophet gaped to take us in;
Mercy to our rescue flew,
Broke the snare, and brought us through.
4
Here, as in the lion's den,
Undevoured we still remain;
Pass secure the watery flood,
Hanging on the arm of God:
Here we raise our voices higher,
Shout in the refiner's fire;
Clap our hands amidst the flame,
Glory give to Jesu's name.
(I understand that Tophet was a place near Jerusalem where refuge burned.)
Monday, April 19, 2010
"Sightings of Jesus in Revelation"
I have been asked by HavenToday to write a daily devotional for a month for their pocket-sized booklet, Anchor. I have agreed to do so. In case you are interested, for the next thirty days or so I will post a devotional and would appreciate feedback, if you feel so moved. No pressure, just enjoy "sightings" of Jesus.
********
“The revelation of Jesus Christ.” Rev. 1:1
The Apostle John, now about ninety five years old, found his faith tested as the awesome power of Rome crashed on the churches in central Turkey, his churches. Prior to that, the church enjoyed a reprieve from Roman harassment but a new Emperor arose who demanded that everyone in the Empire, slave or free, acknowledge his divinity.
Those who had made Jesus their Lord could never do such a thing, John included. So dark clouds of persecution released a storm of persecution and death upon the flocks of Jesus Christ. John’s sentence was probably harder to bear than martyrdom which is once and over. He was forcefully taken to an island off Turkey’s coast, where the weight of all that was happening fell on his aged shoulders. He was crushed. Now, what?
As questions swirled in his troubled soul, John needed “a revival.” He needed to have faith and courage to face the present dark night of testing. He cried out to God for help.
As usual, God he did not begin by revealing a rosy future nor did He explain to John what he should do next. He showed John the only thing that can revive the heart of a disciple. He showed him Jesus, again. That is true revival, to see Jesus, again, as we are buffeted by the bewildering blast of trials.
Dear reader, you and I do not need a new experience, a new insight, a new spiritual gift, a new book on how to pray. We need to see Jesus, again, the only vision that can revive the soul of a child of God. I need to see Jesus for what I am dealing with right now.
********
“The revelation of Jesus Christ.” Rev. 1:1
The Apostle John, now about ninety five years old, found his faith tested as the awesome power of Rome crashed on the churches in central Turkey, his churches. Prior to that, the church enjoyed a reprieve from Roman harassment but a new Emperor arose who demanded that everyone in the Empire, slave or free, acknowledge his divinity.
Those who had made Jesus their Lord could never do such a thing, John included. So dark clouds of persecution released a storm of persecution and death upon the flocks of Jesus Christ. John’s sentence was probably harder to bear than martyrdom which is once and over. He was forcefully taken to an island off Turkey’s coast, where the weight of all that was happening fell on his aged shoulders. He was crushed. Now, what?
As questions swirled in his troubled soul, John needed “a revival.” He needed to have faith and courage to face the present dark night of testing. He cried out to God for help.
As usual, God he did not begin by revealing a rosy future nor did He explain to John what he should do next. He showed John the only thing that can revive the heart of a disciple. He showed him Jesus, again. That is true revival, to see Jesus, again, as we are buffeted by the bewildering blast of trials.
Dear reader, you and I do not need a new experience, a new insight, a new spiritual gift, a new book on how to pray. We need to see Jesus, again, the only vision that can revive the soul of a child of God. I need to see Jesus for what I am dealing with right now.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
A Good Friday Thought
A Good Friday Thought
It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Luke 23:44-45
In the darkest hour, when the sun stopped shining, at three o’clock in the afternoon, a marvelous thing was happening. A few hundred yards away, in Herod’s Temple, the veil, our sin, was split top to bottom. The door into the glorious presence of God was flung open. The Lamb is slain, his Blood shattered the veil. The veil that hindered entrance is wide open, now welcoming repentant sinners.
In the darkest hour, when the sun stopped shining, the Light of Life, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, obliterated my sin and yours, gone forever. Blessed darkness. More blessed light. Most precious Lamb of God, slain for me.
It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Luke 23:44-45
In the darkest hour, when the sun stopped shining, at three o’clock in the afternoon, a marvelous thing was happening. A few hundred yards away, in Herod’s Temple, the veil, our sin, was split top to bottom. The door into the glorious presence of God was flung open. The Lamb is slain, his Blood shattered the veil. The veil that hindered entrance is wide open, now welcoming repentant sinners.
In the darkest hour, when the sun stopped shining, the Light of Life, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, obliterated my sin and yours, gone forever. Blessed darkness. More blessed light. Most precious Lamb of God, slain for me.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
The Blood of Christ - Lawrence Barham
It was at a Grace Abounding Convention in London that, in 1963, Lawrence Barham, a brother whom I appreciated as a teacher for many years, gave a very brief presentation on a rather neglected topic, The Blood of Christ. Here is the text of that message. It goes right to the heart of salvation.
*
THE BLOOD OF CHRIST
By Lawrence Barham
Grace Abounding Convention, London England 1963
In John 1:14 we have the testimony of two men named 'John'. "The Word became flesh and lived for a while among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." What a wonderful expression. John saw that Glory on the Mount of Transfiguration and he would never forget it.
Then John the Baptist came along. John bare witness of Him and cried saying, "This is the One I was speaking about and of His fullness have we all received and grace upon grace." Then he went on to say what this Glory meant: “The next day John saw Jesus coming to him and said, "Behold the Lamb of God which takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29) He wants to do that very thing for each of us - to enable us to 'behold the Lamb of God which takes away my sin, your sin, not just the guilt of it but cleansing us day by day.
Do you think that John the Baptist saw a picture when he saw the Lord Jesus walking along? We read of him that he was to be filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother's womb. What a wonderful thing to be that man. And don't you think that the Holy Spirit in him was teaching him these things? Nobody else can teach us these things except the Holy Spirit. From a small boy, John was filled with the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit was lighting up God's truth to him. When he saw Jesus, I think that the whole meaning of the Old Testament flashed before him. I think that his mind went right back to the first family, to Abel. Abel offered a better sacrifice than Cain. It was better because it was the shed blood, of an animal. Cain offered his produce from the garden and God didn't accept that. But Abel offered a lamb, killed it and offered it up. God accepted it and He accepted Abel. It was counted as a righteous offering. It was by faith that he did it. (Hebrews 11:4)
Cain's family grew worse until God said, 'I shall have to destroy them all except the family of Noah.' When Noah and his family came out of the ark, after that terrible destruction from the flood, what was the first thing he did? He built an altar and offered up a sacrifice as much as to say, 'God has delivered us, but we are still sinners. We did not deliver ourselves. God did it! The Lord smelled a sweet fragrance and the Lord said in His heart, 'I won't curse them again like that.' (Genesis 8: 20)
Now we go on to Abraham. He was told to leave the comfort of Ur of the Chaldees and go to a place he did not know where. And what was the first thing he did? - the Lord appeared to Abraham and said to him: 'Unto your seed will I give this land' and there he built an altar to the Lord who appeared to him. Once again Abraham said, 'I am a sinner chosen by God in His grace, but I am a sinner. It is not my goodness that caused Him to choose me. I deserve to die, but I am trusting in the blood of this animal that I am killing.' And God accepted him.” (Genesis 12:6,7)
Next we go on to Moses appearing before the King of Egypt. He delivered God's message. 'Every house must choose a lamb and kill it and sprinkle the blood upon the doorposts of the houses where you are.' If I may dare to say it, it is a silly thing to do from a human reasoning point of view. How could that help to deliver people from a strong nation like Egypt? Hopeless! And some people said that ... So the Israelites took the lamb and killed it and took its blood and sprinkled it on the doorposts and, in the morning, the firstborn was alive 'When I see the blood' God had said, 'I will pass over you.' (Ex 12:1-12)
There is such a thing as judgment. Whatever we may think about it, the word of God makes that very clear. And God says: 'When I see the blood, I will pass over you.' That was God's way of setting those Israelites free, set free by the blood of the lamb. And when they reached the wilderness, God met with them on Mount Sinai and He ordered them to offer a sacrifice. And they did. God made a covenant with them - a covenant of blood. Moses sprinkled blood on the people and on the book of the covenant and said: 'This is the blood of the covenant which I have made with you. You will be my people and I will lead you into the promised land. And they said, 'We will keep it.' But they didn't ... And God gave them all the wonderful sacrificial system. Detailed descriptions of it go on for chapter after chapter in the book of Moses. All pointed to the fact that these people though redeemed were still sinful people. They had not become perfect. They still needed those daily sacrifices, morning and evening all through the year, as much as to say there is never a time when you don't need atoning for by blood. You are that bad! And so they had this system. It was all picture language pointing forwards.
And they had the great Day of Atonement once a year when the High Priest was told to take the blood of an animal, of a goat, and go into the Holy of Holies and sprinkle the blood on the mercy seat, within the veil. Then there was the other goat. When the High Priest put his hand on the head of the goat and confessed all the sins of the people, the goat was immediately taken away into the wilderness bearing their sins in its own body so to speak. These were pictures - divinely given pictures - and they meant something. (Leviticus 16:34)
There are many references in the Prophets, but I only want to bring you that one in Isaiah 53. It is the most wonderful chapter in Isaiah. "The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent so he did not open his mouth. We all like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him and by his wounds we are healed." Who could that have referred to but our Lord Jesus?
Zechariah, another prophet, said, 'They shall look on Him who they have pierced and they shall mourn for Him and there shall be opened a fountain for sin and uncleanness.' What is in the fountain? It is the blood of Jesus. What other fountain could there be? (Zechariah 12:10)
I went quickly through these little cameos in the Old Testament, some of the things which the Holy Spirit shone into the heart of John the Baptist when he said, 'Look! There is the Lamb of God." (John 1:36)
The Lord Jesus Himself spoke about His own blood. 'This is the New Testament in my blood which is shed for the remission of sins.' He said it Himself before He had actually shed it. (Matthew 26:28)
The apostle John was at the crucifixion when the death of the Lamb of God actually took place. He saw a soldier come and pierce His side. He did not do it to the others, but he did it to the Lord Jesus because He was already dead. John saw that blood and water came out. 'I saw it and I bear witness to it', he said. He saw a spiritual significance in it. There was the blood of the Lamb of God actually being shed in his presence and he saw it ... the life blood of Jesus. The very life of Jesus the perfect Holy life of the Son of God - was poured out on the Cross for us.
In the Epistles, the various writers all refer to it. Paul says to the Romans: 'All have sinned and come short of the glory of God .. being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith' - what in? 'In His Blood - to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past.' (Romans 3:23-25)
Where else shall we go? I am only going quickly through these things so that we may see that the Blood of Jesus is not an isolated matter, but runs right through the Bible. It is the kernel of the whole plan of God for our redemption.
What about Ephesians? 'In Christ Jesus you Gentiles who once were far off have been brought near through the blood of Christ.' In Colossians, 'Having made peace' - how did He do it? - 'through the blood of His cross.' No other way. But He did it. Peace was made by the Blood of the Cross. (Ephesians 2: 13)
Hebrews - There is a lot there about the blood. Christ became a High Priest of good things to come by a greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood. He entered into the Holy Place having obtained eternal redemption for us. Not a 'once a year' business; it is done forever. He offered His own Blood. His perfect life, once for ever. (Hebrews 9:12,14) We are sanctified by the Blood of Jesus, set apart, cleansed, purified, made able to stay in His presence and live with Him in fellowship. There is no other way.
Peter was another of those people who saw the glory of the Lord on the Mount of Transfiguration and Peter no doubt saw the Lamb of God actually being killed on the cross. He said, 'For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.' Peter sow the meaning of that Blood he shed. (1 Peter 1:18)
John, in his epistle, said, 'If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin' - it goes on cleansing us from all sin, keeping us cleansed as we walk in the light with Him. (1 John 1:7)
When you get to the Revelation, you find that the Lamb is the favorite title of the Lord Jesus. If you go to Heaven - as you will if you are trusting in the Blood of the Lord Jesus - you will find them all talking about the Lamb of God who shed His blood for them and redeemed them. And they think, 'We would not be here but for Him. However did we get here, if it wasn't that we have been cleansed by that precious Blood of Jesus? And they sing, 'Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, for He has redeemed us by His blood out of every tribe and nation and country.' (Revelation 5:12)
Do you know the blood of Jesus? Do you know the power of the Blood of Jesus in your life? First of all do you know Him as your Passover Lamb? You may be in bondage. We have all been in bondage. You may never have come out of the bondage of sin and Satan. You may not be saved and the angel of Judgment is, so to speak, hovering over you with the Sword of Judgment. If you haven't trusted in the Lord Jesus, that is what is happening. Do you know Him as the Lamb of God that takes away your sin, the guilt of it, the penalty of it, the fear of it? And do you know that cleansing in the blood of Jesus day by day? It doesn't make us wonderful people, but it makes the Lord Jesus very wonderful. He becomes precious and we begin to understand about the precious blood of Jesus. And there is victory. 'They overcame him, that is the devil, by the Blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives unto death. (Rev 12:11) When the blood of Christ is being applied to our hearts, how can the devil get there? He is a defeated foe. There is victory there.
God is offering us, in His beloved Son, a fullness of life that we may enjoy Him and serve Him forever. He is offering it to us. We can say, "Not I cannot accept it. Or we can say, 'Lord, I am willing. I am a sinful person. I am a failing person, but I believe the Lord Jesus is not a failure. May God open our eyes to see the Blood of Jesus and allow the Holy Spirit to reveal it to us day by day and make us willing to say,”Yes, Lord' to Jesus.
"We must know the power of the Blood if we are to know the power of God. Our knowing experimentally the power. of the Word, the power of the Holy Spirit, and the power of prayer is dependent upon our knowing the power of the Blood of Christ."
*
THE BLOOD OF CHRIST
By Lawrence Barham
Grace Abounding Convention, London England 1963
In John 1:14 we have the testimony of two men named 'John'. "The Word became flesh and lived for a while among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." What a wonderful expression. John saw that Glory on the Mount of Transfiguration and he would never forget it.
Then John the Baptist came along. John bare witness of Him and cried saying, "This is the One I was speaking about and of His fullness have we all received and grace upon grace." Then he went on to say what this Glory meant: “The next day John saw Jesus coming to him and said, "Behold the Lamb of God which takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29) He wants to do that very thing for each of us - to enable us to 'behold the Lamb of God which takes away my sin, your sin, not just the guilt of it but cleansing us day by day.
Do you think that John the Baptist saw a picture when he saw the Lord Jesus walking along? We read of him that he was to be filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother's womb. What a wonderful thing to be that man. And don't you think that the Holy Spirit in him was teaching him these things? Nobody else can teach us these things except the Holy Spirit. From a small boy, John was filled with the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit was lighting up God's truth to him. When he saw Jesus, I think that the whole meaning of the Old Testament flashed before him. I think that his mind went right back to the first family, to Abel. Abel offered a better sacrifice than Cain. It was better because it was the shed blood, of an animal. Cain offered his produce from the garden and God didn't accept that. But Abel offered a lamb, killed it and offered it up. God accepted it and He accepted Abel. It was counted as a righteous offering. It was by faith that he did it. (Hebrews 11:4)
Cain's family grew worse until God said, 'I shall have to destroy them all except the family of Noah.' When Noah and his family came out of the ark, after that terrible destruction from the flood, what was the first thing he did? He built an altar and offered up a sacrifice as much as to say, 'God has delivered us, but we are still sinners. We did not deliver ourselves. God did it! The Lord smelled a sweet fragrance and the Lord said in His heart, 'I won't curse them again like that.' (Genesis 8: 20)
Now we go on to Abraham. He was told to leave the comfort of Ur of the Chaldees and go to a place he did not know where. And what was the first thing he did? - the Lord appeared to Abraham and said to him: 'Unto your seed will I give this land' and there he built an altar to the Lord who appeared to him. Once again Abraham said, 'I am a sinner chosen by God in His grace, but I am a sinner. It is not my goodness that caused Him to choose me. I deserve to die, but I am trusting in the blood of this animal that I am killing.' And God accepted him.” (Genesis 12:6,7)
Next we go on to Moses appearing before the King of Egypt. He delivered God's message. 'Every house must choose a lamb and kill it and sprinkle the blood upon the doorposts of the houses where you are.' If I may dare to say it, it is a silly thing to do from a human reasoning point of view. How could that help to deliver people from a strong nation like Egypt? Hopeless! And some people said that ... So the Israelites took the lamb and killed it and took its blood and sprinkled it on the doorposts and, in the morning, the firstborn was alive 'When I see the blood' God had said, 'I will pass over you.' (Ex 12:1-12)
There is such a thing as judgment. Whatever we may think about it, the word of God makes that very clear. And God says: 'When I see the blood, I will pass over you.' That was God's way of setting those Israelites free, set free by the blood of the lamb. And when they reached the wilderness, God met with them on Mount Sinai and He ordered them to offer a sacrifice. And they did. God made a covenant with them - a covenant of blood. Moses sprinkled blood on the people and on the book of the covenant and said: 'This is the blood of the covenant which I have made with you. You will be my people and I will lead you into the promised land. And they said, 'We will keep it.' But they didn't ... And God gave them all the wonderful sacrificial system. Detailed descriptions of it go on for chapter after chapter in the book of Moses. All pointed to the fact that these people though redeemed were still sinful people. They had not become perfect. They still needed those daily sacrifices, morning and evening all through the year, as much as to say there is never a time when you don't need atoning for by blood. You are that bad! And so they had this system. It was all picture language pointing forwards.
And they had the great Day of Atonement once a year when the High Priest was told to take the blood of an animal, of a goat, and go into the Holy of Holies and sprinkle the blood on the mercy seat, within the veil. Then there was the other goat. When the High Priest put his hand on the head of the goat and confessed all the sins of the people, the goat was immediately taken away into the wilderness bearing their sins in its own body so to speak. These were pictures - divinely given pictures - and they meant something. (Leviticus 16:34)
There are many references in the Prophets, but I only want to bring you that one in Isaiah 53. It is the most wonderful chapter in Isaiah. "The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent so he did not open his mouth. We all like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him and by his wounds we are healed." Who could that have referred to but our Lord Jesus?
Zechariah, another prophet, said, 'They shall look on Him who they have pierced and they shall mourn for Him and there shall be opened a fountain for sin and uncleanness.' What is in the fountain? It is the blood of Jesus. What other fountain could there be? (Zechariah 12:10)
I went quickly through these little cameos in the Old Testament, some of the things which the Holy Spirit shone into the heart of John the Baptist when he said, 'Look! There is the Lamb of God." (John 1:36)
The Lord Jesus Himself spoke about His own blood. 'This is the New Testament in my blood which is shed for the remission of sins.' He said it Himself before He had actually shed it. (Matthew 26:28)
The apostle John was at the crucifixion when the death of the Lamb of God actually took place. He saw a soldier come and pierce His side. He did not do it to the others, but he did it to the Lord Jesus because He was already dead. John saw that blood and water came out. 'I saw it and I bear witness to it', he said. He saw a spiritual significance in it. There was the blood of the Lamb of God actually being shed in his presence and he saw it ... the life blood of Jesus. The very life of Jesus the perfect Holy life of the Son of God - was poured out on the Cross for us.
In the Epistles, the various writers all refer to it. Paul says to the Romans: 'All have sinned and come short of the glory of God .. being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith' - what in? 'In His Blood - to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past.' (Romans 3:23-25)
Where else shall we go? I am only going quickly through these things so that we may see that the Blood of Jesus is not an isolated matter, but runs right through the Bible. It is the kernel of the whole plan of God for our redemption.
What about Ephesians? 'In Christ Jesus you Gentiles who once were far off have been brought near through the blood of Christ.' In Colossians, 'Having made peace' - how did He do it? - 'through the blood of His cross.' No other way. But He did it. Peace was made by the Blood of the Cross. (Ephesians 2: 13)
Hebrews - There is a lot there about the blood. Christ became a High Priest of good things to come by a greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood. He entered into the Holy Place having obtained eternal redemption for us. Not a 'once a year' business; it is done forever. He offered His own Blood. His perfect life, once for ever. (Hebrews 9:12,14) We are sanctified by the Blood of Jesus, set apart, cleansed, purified, made able to stay in His presence and live with Him in fellowship. There is no other way.
Peter was another of those people who saw the glory of the Lord on the Mount of Transfiguration and Peter no doubt saw the Lamb of God actually being killed on the cross. He said, 'For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.' Peter sow the meaning of that Blood he shed. (1 Peter 1:18)
John, in his epistle, said, 'If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin' - it goes on cleansing us from all sin, keeping us cleansed as we walk in the light with Him. (1 John 1:7)
When you get to the Revelation, you find that the Lamb is the favorite title of the Lord Jesus. If you go to Heaven - as you will if you are trusting in the Blood of the Lord Jesus - you will find them all talking about the Lamb of God who shed His blood for them and redeemed them. And they think, 'We would not be here but for Him. However did we get here, if it wasn't that we have been cleansed by that precious Blood of Jesus? And they sing, 'Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, for He has redeemed us by His blood out of every tribe and nation and country.' (Revelation 5:12)
Do you know the blood of Jesus? Do you know the power of the Blood of Jesus in your life? First of all do you know Him as your Passover Lamb? You may be in bondage. We have all been in bondage. You may never have come out of the bondage of sin and Satan. You may not be saved and the angel of Judgment is, so to speak, hovering over you with the Sword of Judgment. If you haven't trusted in the Lord Jesus, that is what is happening. Do you know Him as the Lamb of God that takes away your sin, the guilt of it, the penalty of it, the fear of it? And do you know that cleansing in the blood of Jesus day by day? It doesn't make us wonderful people, but it makes the Lord Jesus very wonderful. He becomes precious and we begin to understand about the precious blood of Jesus. And there is victory. 'They overcame him, that is the devil, by the Blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives unto death. (Rev 12:11) When the blood of Christ is being applied to our hearts, how can the devil get there? He is a defeated foe. There is victory there.
God is offering us, in His beloved Son, a fullness of life that we may enjoy Him and serve Him forever. He is offering it to us. We can say, "Not I cannot accept it. Or we can say, 'Lord, I am willing. I am a sinful person. I am a failing person, but I believe the Lord Jesus is not a failure. May God open our eyes to see the Blood of Jesus and allow the Holy Spirit to reveal it to us day by day and make us willing to say,”Yes, Lord' to Jesus.
"We must know the power of the Blood if we are to know the power of God. Our knowing experimentally the power. of the Word, the power of the Holy Spirit, and the power of prayer is dependent upon our knowing the power of the Blood of Christ."
Friday, January 8, 2010
The amazing reach of the atoning work of Jesus in a life
Chambers, in his January 7 meditation speaks to us.
Your whole spirit ...
The great mystical work of the Holy Spirit is in the dim regions of our personality which we cannot get at. Read the 139th Psalm; the Psalmist implies, "Thou art the God of the early mornings, the God of the late at nights, the God of the mountain peaks, and the God of the sea; but, my God, my soul has further horizons than the early mornings, deeper darkness than the nights of earth, higher peaks than any mountain peaks, greater depths than any sea in nature-Thou who art the God of all these, be my God. I cannot reach to the heights or to the depths; there are motives I cannot trace, dreams I cannot get at - my God, search me out."
Your whole spirit ...
The great mystical work of the Holy Spirit is in the dim regions of our personality which we cannot get at. Read the 139th Psalm; the Psalmist implies, "Thou art the God of the early mornings, the God of the late at nights, the God of the mountain peaks, and the God of the sea; but, my God, my soul has further horizons than the early mornings, deeper darkness than the nights of earth, higher peaks than any mountain peaks, greater depths than any sea in nature-Thou who art the God of all these, be my God. I cannot reach to the heights or to the depths; there are motives I cannot trace, dreams I cannot get at - my God, search me out."
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