Living the Resurrection Life, The Blood Part 2 - David Mitts

Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, "Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. (Rev 12:10-11 NKJV)

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Giving Opportunity Message

Last chapter we began exploring the overcoming life, specifically from perspective of the power of the blood of Yeshua. The blood speaks on our behalf and protects us from the accuser and his accusations against us. The blood also cries for justice and defends the innocent. Thirdly, the blood brings the Lord into the abiding place of our heart where we have communion with Lord. Intimacy and trust are fashioned in the heart and God’s voice speaks to us through the voice of the blood.

We used the Passover deliverance picture of the blood of the sacrificial lamb on the doorposts and lintel of the homes of Israel in Egypt as a picture of the blood on the doorposts of our heart. The blood, both spoke to stop the angel of death and spoke to invite Yahweh into the homes of Israel to partake of the covenant meal of the lamb. In a new covenant parallel, the blood of our Passover Lamb, Yeshua, protects our hearts from the death in the world, and gives entrance to the dwelling place of God in our hearts. When we take communion, we affirm and activate this reality.

This is the beginning of the transformation of our lives that is activated by the blood and appropriated when we respond in faith.

I want to next extend the impact of the blood to encompass our unique destiny in God. Look with me 1 Peter chapter 1 verses 17-19:

And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear; knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. (1Pe 1:17-19 NKJV)

We are not redeemed with the value systems of man and the world. Our redemption is by the precious blood of the Lamb, the Messiah Yeshua who was without spot or blemish. This reference to spot or blemish is a statement about the perfection of the sacrifice. Spots and blemishes refer to defective offerings that are inferior or substandard. This was a common practice in religious ceremonies, to bring a form of sacrifice without the real heart connection. Today we are seeing this same kind of religious attitude without a true recognition of the heart. God admonished Israel for these practices through the prophet Malachi.

"Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, 'In what way have we robbed You?' In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed Me, even this whole nation. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this," Says the Lord of hosts, "If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it. "And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field," Says the Lord of hosts; "And all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land," says the Lord of hosts. (Mal 3:8-12 NKJV)

Offerings to the Lord reflect the love we have for Him. In turn the offering of the Lord, reflects His love for us. Our giving reflects our heart and how we treasure the one we give to. Think of a time when you wanted to truly express your love for someone. Think of all the attention to details and the meaninglessness to you, of the relative cost. This is a shadow of God’s love for you!

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (Joh 3:16 NKJV)

God so treasures us that His offering, His sacrifice was the blood of His perfect Son. Peter contrasts that with treasures of this earth, gold and silver and what he calls the aimless conduct received by tradition from our natural lineage, called our fathers. This inheritance from the world is labelled as aimless or another way of saying that is purposeless. We see this in the contemporary church. The church ahs lost its trust in the Creator. We have fallen into the trap of Romans 1:18-25:

For God's wrath is revealed from heaven against all godlessness and unrighteousness of people who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth, since what can be known about God is evident among them, because God has shown it to them. For His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what He has made. As a result, people are without excuse. For though they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became nonsense, and their senseless minds were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man, birds, four-footed animals, and reptiles. Therefore God delivered them over in the cravings of their hearts to sexual impurity, so that their bodies were degraded among themselves. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served something created instead of the Creator, who is praised forever. Amen. (Rom 1:18-25)

Without God, we have no purpose beyond existence and attempting to gratify ourselves with the objects of our desires. John describes this life:

Do not love the world or the things that belong to the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him. For everything that belongs to the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one's lifestyle--is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world with its lust is passing away, but the one who does God's will remains forever. (1Jn 2:15-17)

This contrast between the love of the things of the world and the will of the Father is all about purpose and destiny. We were created in our DNA to be creative, to work and to live lives of eternal purpose. This eternal purpose is the crown or the authority of God in our lives. We don’t have authority over all of life, just the parts of live that are our purpose.

This purpose is birthed at the cross. Like a natural mother who has her water break prior to a natural birth, the blood of Yeshua is the breaking forth of the children of God into their God-appointed destiny.

For the creation eagerly awaits with anticipation for God's sons to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to futility--not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it--in the hope that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage of corruption into the glorious freedom of God's children. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together with labor pains until now. (Rom 8:19-22)

The birthing of the children of God occurs through the blood of Yeshua.

There is a point in the crucifixion after Yeshua has died that the soldier’s spear pierces his side and blood and water flow out.

“Yet one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.” (Joh 19:34)

This event is highlighted in the narrative. Why? Let’s look at the next verse and see if we can see what is going on with the eyes of the spirit:

“And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe. For these things took place so that the Scripture would be fulfilled: “NOT A BONE OF HIM SHALL BE BROKEN.” And again another Scripture says, “THEY WILL LOOK AT HIM WHOM THEY PIERCED.”” (Joh 19:35-37)

This is so important that John tells us that this testimony is true and is a foundation stone for our faith. Then he quotes the scriptures that are being fulfilled about no bones broken and the looking at Him who is pierced.

The bones not being broken refers to the Passover lamb as prescribed in Exodus 12:

“And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the ordinance of the Passover: no foreigner is to eat it; but as for every slave that someone has purchased with money, after you have circumcised him, then he may eat it. “A stranger or a hired worker shall not eat it. “It is to be eaten in a single house; you are not to bring any of the meat outside of the house, nor are you to break any bone of it.” (Exo 12:43-46)

This is a sign of the perfection of the sacrifice of love by God, and a reminder of our love back to Him.

The piercing of Yeshua’s side, however, has another powerful significance. The prophetic word of Zechariah states:

“And I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and of pleading, so that they will look at Me whom they pierced; and they will mourn for Him, like one mourning for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.” (Zec 12:10)

The first thing to note is that all of what is occurring is by the Spirit of grace and supplication. The Hebrew here is very helpful. Both words come from the same root word of Chen. This word means to encircle the seed of God with a border or a boundary of protection. In this case the boundary is the ability to see. The seeing reveals that this is the Son of God who is being sacrificed. This is reference to the Passover again as the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world is sacrificed to redeem the firstborn of Israel. The firstborn is the doubly anointed for the destiny of the house. Those who first open the womb are the destiny carriers for the home and are given the double portion.

Yeshua, as the first-born redeems us all to the place of the first-born of God. The grace and supplication are of the Spirit that open us this reality that we can now see. Seeing is the key to destiny.

Weeping and mourning are signs of the value of the sacrifice. Imagine the mourning in Egypt when the angel of death took their destiny, their firstborn. Open your eyes to the reality of what the blood is doing for you, redeeming your destiny. The eyes are the windows of the soul. Where we direct our attention reveals where our hope and trust are.

looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Heb 12:2 NKJV)

The blood opens up our eyes to perceive the Master who is writing our destiny with us and for us.

BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen. "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."(Rev 1:7-8 NASB)

The return of the Lord is a universal event. Every eye will see Him. For now, those whom He reveals Himself to can see Him. He is still the alpha and the omega, the author and the finisher of our faith. By this we mean that He has assumed authorship in our lives.

An author directs a story. Yeshua is directing our story, our living epistle. His blood is the power of finishing the story. On the cross, He declared, it is finished. This was a declaration that our destiny is at hand. He shed His blood to restore us to purpose, to destiny.

Activation: See the spear in the side of Yeshua in your mind’s eye. See the blood and water come forth and feel the birthing of your destiny. The side, Xad in Hebrew, is the place of the bride.

So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. The LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. The man said, "This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man." For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed. (Gen 2:21-25 NASB)

When you stand in your place as the bride, you can stand pure and unashamed of who you are and why you are. Ask the Lord to help you discover your unique purpose in Him!