“The message and challenge of Revival, which is coming to many of us these days is searching in its utter simplicity. It is simply that there is only one thing in the world that can hinder the Christian’s walking in victorious fellowship with God and his being filled with the Holy Spirit – and that is sin in one form or another. There is only one thing in the world that can cleanse him from sin with all that that means of liberty and victory – and that is the power of the Blood of the Lord Jesus.”

There is power in the Blood! “By the power of His Blood peace is made between man and God. By its power there is forgiveness of sins and eternal life for all who would put their faith in the Lord Jesus. By the power of His Blood Satan is overcome. By its power there is continual cleansing from all sin for us. By the power of His Blood, we may be set free from the tyranny of an evil conscience to serve a living God. By its infinite power with God, the most unworthy have liberty to enter the Holy of Holies of God’s presence and live there all the day.”

“That which gives the precious Blood its power with God for men is the lamb like disposition of the One who shed it and of which it is the supreme expression.”

ROY HESSION

The more I think about Christ’s sacrifice, the more in awe I am of God’s Word and His redemptive plan for the ages. In the Old Testament, God set in motion the sacrificial system of the Law. There had to be a blood sacrifice to atone for man’s sin. This was the only way man could live rightly related with God (see Hebrews 9:22). There were hundreds of thousands of sacrifices made over the years, and the amount of blood must have been staggering. B. Childress (blogger) said, “If there were 4 men in each house, there could be up to 150,000 lambs offered the night of the Passover… King Hezekiah sacrificed over 10,000 sheep, and each Passover in Jerusalem there were as high as 300,000 lambs a year.” This would mean that approximately “310,000 gallons of blood a year [was shed] on the altar of the Lord.”

Hebrews 10:1-5 says, “The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship. If they could have provided perfect cleansing, the sacrifices would have stopped, for the worshipers would have been purified once for all time, and their feelings of guilt would have disappeared. But instead, those sacrifices actually reminded them of their sins year after year. For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. That is why when Christ came into the world, He said to God, ‘You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings. But You have given Me a body to offer'” (NLT).

Hebrews 10 goes on to say in verses 10-13, “by this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD” (NASB1995).

There was only One person Whose Blood would qualify for the redemption of all mankind. “Jesus is the Divine fulfillment of all those lambs that men offered – the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. But the title Lamb has a deeper meaning. It describes His character. He is the Lamb in that He is meek and lowly in heart, gentle and unresisting, and all the time surrendering His own will to the Father’s for the blessing and saving of men.”

“The scourging, the scoffing, the spitting, the hair plucked off from His cheeks, the weary last march up the Hill, the nailing and the lifting up, the piercing of His side and the flowing of His Blood – none of these things would ever have been, had He not been the Lamb. And all that to pay the price of my sin!”

“So we see He is not merely the Lamb because He died on the Cross, but He died upon the Cross because He is the Lamb.”

ROY HESSION

“Let us ever see this disposition in the Blood. Let every mention of the Blood call to mind the deep humility and self-surrender of the Lamb, for it is this disposition that gives the Blood its wonderful power with God.”

In his book, The Power of the Blood of Jesus, Andrew Murray goes through the Scriptures showing the “unique place which is given to THE BLOOD from the beginning to the end of God’s revelation of Himself to man, as recorded in the Bible.” As early as Genesis, we learn that “there can be no approach to God; no fellowship with Him by faith; no enjoyment of His favor, apart from THE BLOOD.” Sin has always separated man and God, but only the Blood can reconcile us.

“But are we willing for this? There is a hard unyielding self, which stands up for itself and resists others, that will have to be broken, if we are to be willing for the disposition of the Lamb, and if the precious Blood is to reach us in cleansing power… As we are willing for this in each issue, the Blood of the Lamb will be able to cleanse us from all sin and we shall walk with God in white, with His peace in our hearts.”

Chapter 9: Homework

Day 1: There’s Power in the Blood

1. Read Colossians 1:19-20. What do you learn about the Blood?
2. Read Colossians 1:13-14 and John 6:54. What has Christ done for us and what do we have through His Blood?
3. Based on Revelation 12:10-11, what do you learn about the Blood? Who is the accuser of the brethren?
4. Read 1 John 1:7. How are we cleansed? Read Romans 5:9. How are we justified?
5. The Passover is a powerful illustration of the blood. Read Exodus 12:1-30 and record everything the Israelites were to do. What was the significance of the blood of the lamb?

Day 2: There’s Power in the Blood Part 2 (continued)

1. Read Ephesians 1:7 and 2:13. What else has Christ done for us through His Blood?
2. Read 1 Peter 1:17-21. List everything you learn about Jesus. How were we redeemed?
3. Read 1 John 5:5-12. How did Jesus come? (v 6). Who testifies and what is the testimony? (vs. 7 & 11)
4. There are many references to the Blood of Christ in Revelation. Read Revelation 1:5, 5:9, and 7:14. Record what you learn about the Blood.
5. Read Revelation 19:11-16. Record all that you learn about Jesus, taking special note of the mention of His blood. Did you know the armies mentioned in verse 14 are the saints of God? We will be numbered among them on that day! How does verse 14 describe them? Does this shed new light for you on Isaiah 1:18?

Day 3: A More Perfect Sacrifice

1. Read Hebrews 9:1-10. List everything you learn about the first covenant (the Old Covenant).
2. Now read Hebrews 9:11-14. What did Christ do when He appeared that was different than the old way? How is He our High Priest?
3. Based on Hebrews 9:15-23, what do you see of the importance of blood in the Old Covenant? What is Christ called in verse 15?
4. Read Hebrews 9:24-28. Why was Christ’s sacrifice far superior than sacrifices with the blood of animals?
5. Read Romans 8:1-4. What did God do that the Law could not do?

Day 4: Shadow to Substance

1. Read Hebrews 10:1-4. How does Scripture refer to the “old system” or the Law?
2. Instead of providing perfect cleansing, what did the sacrifices actually do according to verse 3?
3. Read Romans 3:19-20. What does the Law do?
4. Now back to Hebrews 10. Read verses 5-10. What did Christ say to God when He came into the world?
5. Read Hebrews 10:11-18. What do you learn about the New Covenant? (see verses 16-18).
6. Record Hebrews 11:1 in your journal. God wants to move us from the shadow of the Law to the substance of Christ!

Day 5: A New and Living Way

1. Read Hebrews 10:19 and record it in your journal.
2. Now read Hebrews 10:19-24. How does this passage encourage your heart today? What do you learn about the Blood of Christ in verse 19?
3. Did you know that the New Covenant was prophesied in the Old Testament? Read Jeremiah 31:31-33. Now read Luke 22:20. What did the cup represent?
4. Read Hebrews 13:8-14. Where did Jesus suffer? What do you learn about the Blood?
5. As we close this week’s homework, record Hebrews 13:15 in your journal. Remember that a sacrifice of praise is still a sacrifice (it involves a death to self). Sometimes it’s painful to praise God through our trials, but we can do it by His grace. Take a few minutes to praise God for your redemption through His blood!

Please note that unless stated otherwise, all italicized quotes that are not directly cited from an author or Scripture are direct quotes from the book, The Calvary Road, by Roy Hession.