What You'll Discover in this Episode:
One reason some Christians may not experience a passion for God, transformation in their life, and victory over sin and temptation is that they haven’t come to the full understanding of what salvation really means for the Christian, and what God has really done for them. Three life-changing, life-giving facts about the Christian life that will greatly change and alter how we live if we truly come to the realization of them. These are the realization of what the blood of Christ has done for us, what it is to have the Holy Spirit, the power of leaving the old life and pursuing fellowship in the body of Christ and the power of God’s Word.
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It is so very interesting that Pastor Jeff and Jenny addressed the nominal Christian. One who does not understand the greatest love gift by God through Jesus Christ our Savior. Or do not have life giving influence through the power of the Holy Spirit. Then remain easily persuaded by temptation and fleshly lusts of the past. Coming to understanding of the great love and availability of baptism by the Holy Spirit is a directive of living for God and not living as nominal Christians.
I think this message is crucial to victory in our walk with Christ ! This topic really resonates with me, because it was a major turning point in my faith. We need to reckon what we have in Christ. He has single handedly won and purchased a life of freedom and spiritual blessings for us, yet we often walk in spiritual poverty. It’s like having a rich dad and choosing to live on the streets. Ephesians 1 has truly changed my life, as pastor Jeff mentions, to walk in the blood of Christ, we can claim and walk in what He has already purchased !
Knowing we have the helper and can be filled with the in dwelling power of the Holy Spirit, walking in belief and trust, dependence on Him, really frees us from religion. I love how Jenny mentioned in the beginning: man cannot rescue man. So true ! It’s baffling that we even try. Lord help us !
A life with Christ is most precious and abundant when you realize the power of the blood of Christ. I grew up understanding what Jesus did for me, but not as an adult, I am having to learn what that means for my life. “When we understand what God has done through His Son, we can understand more fully what He has given us.” God wants to change us, He has given us everything we need to change, but we have to see the need for it, and boy is there a great need. There were three things to think about towards the end of this podcast. First, again, we need to understand what the blood of Christ means personally for our lives. Second, we need to understand how the Holy Spirit can and will change our lives. Third, we need to understand that we have been delivered from the bondage of sin when we make the choice to deny ourselves and follow Jesus. Personally, I do not want to neglect so great a salvation.
Knowing first who we are before Christ in our sins helps us come to the place of freedom because of the work of Jesus. He buys us out of the slavery of this world, and He loosens the bonds of the depraved nature from which we are all born into from Adam and Eve. I am reminded how in John 11 Jesus groaned in his spirit over the death of Lazarus, his friend. He was grieved by the loss but also grieved over what sin does in a human life, and that it ends in death. Jesus told Lazarus to come out of the tomb, and then he told those standing by to “loose him and let him go.” This demonstrated to us the power of Jesus Christ to set us free from death but also to remove that which we are bound up with. Let the power of God work in our lives and let us not neglect the power to change us into the image and nature of His Son.
I never looked at the story of Lazarus that way. Thank you. It’s so amazing how everything in scripture leads to Jesus and His gift of salvation! Even in the Old Testament…couldn’t it be said that in the fiery furnace Jesus removed the chains from Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? They were in the center of the fire and were not burned because of their absolute belief in the one true God. All of this points to salvation as well. Once you understand that everything in the bible is pointing to Jesus it changes everything.
Great podcast episode! Just recently I was talking with my wife about this topic. Many of us, myself included, can leave the Cross of Christ and become busy with the “work” of ministry without a rich view of the blood of Jesus. Romans 5:17 is a great reference that reinforces our former servitude to sin in contrast to Christ’s reign over our new lives in Him, “For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.”Many believers do neglect the great salvation (Heb. 2:3) that Christ has merited for us. We begin in the Spirit and try to live according to the will instead of His Holy Spirit. Thank you for the encouragement to take advantage of ALL of the benefits that come by grace through faith in Him.
Good word, David. It is very easy to get into and have the work ministry distract us at times to the real reason we serve the Lord. When I am teaching on Sunday, and we have a time of communion, it just brings it all back home again. It’s all about the blood of the Lamb and not by anything we can do, resting in His finished work.
It is so true that often times though we begin in the Spirit we try to continue the work on our own. It is so important that we keep our eyes on Jesus and know that we receive abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness so that we can walk in His power, not on our own merit.
100 % agreed! Keeping our eye on Jesus is so crucial as we embark on the spiritual journey. Thanks for your comment Kristie!
Great post David. I particularly liked what you wrote regarding Romans 5:17. We have a great resource in Christ, the victory that he Has is ours in this life and the life to come. We can sometimes think that we will never overcome our problems or our enslavement to certain sins, but the reality is that in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit, we truly can overcome. This power is a gift from God.
Something that I learned through this podcast that I didn’t know before was that the Holy Spirit’s ministry is to give glory to Jesus. I have always known that when I accepted Jesus as my Savior that I now had access to the Holy Spirit living in me but now I understand that the Holy Spirit lives in me so that He can help me and guide me to live my life as to give glory to Jesus. Seems like a simple concept but it is so profound. This also explains how when we do not yield to the power of the Holy Spirit our walk goes sideways. The Holy Spirit is going to always point us to Jesus and when we don’t yield to Him, we will turn away. The way the Holy Spirit points us to Jesus is by constantly reminding us what He did for us, the power of the shed blood of Jesus. I was also struck by how they spoke about how Jesus saving us from our sins was not just a one time event but is continuous. We sin everyday and Jesus forgives us everyday, we are forgiven everyday, because of His blood on the cross. How amazing is that?!! I can hardly understand it but I am so thankful for it.
Isn’t is so cool that the Holy Spirit wants to help us live that way? God loves us so much that He has given us this part of Himself to help us to live for His glory. And it is so good to be reminded of what Jesus did for us, and that power that His sacrifice holds in our lives. I know that, personally, I constantly need to be reminded of Jesus’ death on the cross. Every day is a battle, and that hope that He gave us needs to always be remembered.
Rebecca, it is delightfully marvelous that the Holy Spirit wants us to live in us that way. We are called to live for His glory. Overflowing with living waters poured into our hearts. Glorifying and serving God, Our Father. Thank you inspiring me to respond.
People often do not walk fully into their new lives as believers, I have found this can happen even when people have known the Lord for a long time. There can be an ignorance of what the believer has through the power of the blood and in the resource of the Holy Spirit. I would add to this that I have found people may understand at some level the power of the blood and the Spirit, yet still believe lies about themselves and their relationship to God. It is also true that people do not make the decision to separate themselves from the world. Without a proper understanding of what they are walking towards, people are often hesitant to walk away from the familiar, even when they know they ought to. By beginning with a proper and clear understanding of the power of the blood, the work of the Holy Spirit, and the need for determination to change, we can help counsel people effectively.
Sherra, I agree wholeheartedly. Your point about ignorance concerning who we are walking to and what we should walk away from is valid. Many view salvation as a transaction, insert prayer and out comes salvation without an understanding that He has called us to a new way of living because of the new birth (born again). May we boldly go before the Lord and receive help in our time of need and the power to live for Him.
I fully agree with this. I chose to follow the Lord when I was about sixteen. After hearing about Him my whole life, I decided I wanted to know a life with Him for myself. But to be honest, I did not fully understand the concept of actually living in the freedom of the power of His blood until many years later. I don’t know if it is just confusing to understand at first, so you hesitate to really grasp it, and part of it is definitely spiritual warfare and Satan not wanting us to know of that freedom we can have. When I share with people, I know now that the most important thing to help them understand first is this understanding of what Jesus did and the impact it can have on a life.
I agree Sherra. This is why it so important for us to continually be in the Word and to be attending a church that teaches what it says in the bible to believers about their lives. We can’t fully access all that God has for us unless we are seeking it. But, I will also say, that I don’t think we will ever fully arrive and I think some people can only comprehend so much.
Right, so true! We often get comfortable in coasting in our Christian walk . If we are alive on this earth, we have not reached all that Christ has for us and the freedom he calls us to.
I think the podcasts description mentions it well, when It says ” help us to realize how important it is to not be moved from the place of grace to the place of complacency.”
Very well said :” people are hesitant to walk away from what is familiar. ”
I know I can be guilty of this. ” lord help us to be set apart, come help us be separate, not only from the things of the world but also from the sin nature within our hearts.”
I thought it was very insightful when Pastor Jeff mentioned how people often “recoil” from the work of the Holy Spirit and neglect their salvation. I know from my own life and from counseling others just how true it is that many Christians see their salvation as a moment in the past and not a daily walk. I think it is natural to recoil from the work of the Spirit, even as Christians. Why? Because conviction over sin is hard to deal with when you don’t know the basic steps of Christianity. Believers recoil because it seems as though the are stepping into the pain without considering the joys that will come afterward. They don’t reign in life because death to self hurts at first until fruit buds and life is renewed in Christ again and again. For me, I know I have to consider the cost that comes with the work of the Spirit in my life. Just as Christ died to save me, I must actively die to self to access the life of Christ. He is a living Savior and though I submit to the Spirits work to put to death my flesh, I will live in Christ all the more afterward.
I think you make a great point! So many believers do view salvation as a one time and done experience. Learning to walk out our salvation is a life long journey however. Praise God that he is faithful to pursue us as we slowly learn to turn our eyes away from ourselves and to fix them on Him.
I agree, I believe the “recoil” concept is very common amongst believers and can manifest itself in many areas . I have had several friends who have been hurt by the church and then completely walk in a direction far from community in the body of Christ, this does them a dis-service, though they think they are protecting themselves. I am not witout fault. There are many scenarios when I am hurt or don’t understand something that I draw back instead of courageously believing there is a revealing /helping God to get me through it. I like that you mentioned ” seeing the joy that comes afterward” , I think this is crucial to getting through the pain and self denial. Thank you for sharing!
This podcast is so powerful talking about the power of the blood of Christ. Not only has Christ come to set us free from the bondage of sin, but He came to give us power in this life. He sits at the right hand of the Father making intercession for us so that we might live in the fullness of life. We are being sanctified and His power is made available to us so that we may live a life pleasing to Him. We are able to come to the throne daily to receive the help that we need. This is so good and so powerful.
Its the “daily” that those I counsel struggle with in the process. They start to draw on the Lord and whe they do better they get comfortable and trun back to their immaturities and begin to live in their own strength.
There is daily help for us in Christ by the Spirit who dwells in us. This is why it is so important to get people into the scriptures daily, prayer daily, and fellowship daily. They need to break away from their sinful or foolish cycles and dive into the Spirits work on them. You hit it on the nose when you mentioned their daily needs and the Lords daily provision of power.
Juan, you are on point. Walking with the Lord is a “daily” exercise that requires our faithful submission, not our willpower. When we continue looking unto Jesus, we are reminded of our weakness in the flesh and of the grace poured out to us. This should mobilize and energize us to go before His throne, yet I have often gone forward in selfish ambition only to return defeated because of my reliance on the flesh. May we go before the Lord daily to receive the “provision of power” you mentioned.
Excellent point!
Kristie, I agree. After we have been freed from the bondage of sin, we still have a choice to walk out of the cell and begin walking in the newness of life He made possible. Ignorance of what Christ has accomplished often leads me to rely foolishly on my self to walk uprightly. I wish once we were freed from sin that we could no longer return to our former ways, but God allows us to follow Him to the degree that we desire Him. That is a sobering and exciting thought. If we draw near to Christ, He WILL draw near to us. Thanks Kristie.
Kristie, thank you for message of power of the blood of Christ. As I read your comment my mind sparkled with an old hymn we sang in church when I was young. There is power, power, wonder working power in the blood of the Lamb. It was inspiring to think of that hymn and how I now get it. Life giving power through Christ. Oh, and by the way you probably don’t know that hymn. I am sure I am substantially older than you.
This topic is one I think we as Christians struggle with quite frequently. What does it mean to be saved, to be born again and live as Christians? On the one hand, we are given salvation as a gift – eternal life is based on faith in Christ Jesus and His sacrifice & resurrection. On the other hand, doesn’t that new-birth give us the power to overcome sin?
I love what Jeff says at 14:50 in the podcast where he speaks regarding the helper, the Holy Spirit and continually being filled with the Holy Spirit. Many Christians are walking in defeat because we’re not yielding to the work of the Spirit. I know that’s been the case in my life when I’ve strayed. At 8:36, Jeff touches on a very important point in that often we deeply underestimate the power of God and His ability to deliver us from the bondage of sin. How? One way is explained at 12:28 of the podcast, this is key: “as we fix our eyes on our king and he makes intercession for us we will become weary of our sin and we’re going to want more of Him.
At 13:10, Jenny speaks about the power of the Holy Spirit – the baptism of the Holy Spirit – that helps to watch the Christian life because now we have gifts… using gifts to build up the body of Christ.
We can have great success in Christ, as he says at 12:10 – the Word of God works effectively in one who believes.
Amen.
-Tom Zimbelman
Tom, I think people often forget the power that is at their disposal and all that the Word of God can do for them.
2Pe 1:3-4 “as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”
Our new birth in Christ and His Word helps us to be overcomers.