Creflo Dollar - Understanding the Power of the Blood of Jesus - Part 1
We've been talking about the seven ways, or really, the seven keys, of how to win in this battle against Satan and demons, and victory over Satan and demons, and just a little, the first key was be aware of the battle. The second key was to rebel against Satan by pushing away and running to God. The third key was to put on the armor of God. We've talked extensively about that. The fourth key was to pray the Word, and the fifth key was to get rid of false thoughts and puncture those false thoughts that come.
Now, tonight, I really wanna spend some time on the sixth key. We have seven, so I'm gonna do something a little different, the seventh key, and then I'll go back to the sixth one, that's the one I want to spend my time with, but the seventh key to having, or obtaining, the victory over Satan and over demons is to don't, number seven, don't neglect Christian community. Don't neglect Christian community. Now, if you would, go to Hebrews chapter 3:12 through 13. Again, I'm doing number seven first, and then we'll go back to number six because number six is pleading the blood of Jesus, and I wanna spend time on showing you what the blood of Jesus has accomplished.
It's very hard to plead the blood and not know what it accomplished, and I thought today why should I expect for everybody to automatically know what the blood of Jesus has accomplished, and I thought maybe we need to settle back a little bit to go through the scriptures because I got really excited about reviewing, man, look at what the blood has done, look at what the blood has accomplished, and once you hear it and see the scriptures that confirm what the blood of Jesus has accomplished, oh man, the devil better watch out because, boy, I tell you, you start, the Bible says you overcome him by the testimony of what the blood has done, but if you don't know what the blood has done, how are you gonna testify about it? So I wanna go ahead and do this right here.
Number seven, don't neglect Christian community. Hebrews 3, verses 12 through 13, he says, "Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God, but exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin". And if you'll go to chapter 10 in the book of Hebrews, chapter 10 in verse 24 and 25, Hebrews 10:24 and 25, he says, "And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching".
The only point I wanted to make here is a lot of times preachers use this particular scripture, and I've used it before, Hebrews chapter 10:25, to say when it says not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together, we use it to communicate to people, well, you should be coming to church and you should not forsake church attendance. I'm okay with that, but even more so it means neither should you forsake the assembling of yourselves together with the community of believers, both in church and away from church, you follow what I'm saying? Because the enemy is probably waiting for you to get by yourself, tend to yourself, entertain thoughts to yourself, and it's really good to have fellowship so that when you see a believer being challenged and maybe tempted to quit, or down, that you could speak the Word of faith to 'em and you can encourage them, so the reason why he doesn't want you to forsake the assembling of yourselves together, so he says very clearly here assemble, assemble, don't be an island, assemble.
You need to get around some, I mean, good Christians, real Christians, people that build you up, okay, people that you can trust to speak the truth to you in love so you won't be going around, you know, carrying yourself in a way that's ungodly. We need that. Don't forsake community. Don't forsake assembling yourselves together as believers, both at church and when you're not at church because you're gonna need that. You start hanging, you know, a big problem today is, especially with teenagers, just hanging around the wrong people, okay, and you don't want, you know, your conversation or your lifestyle to be influenced by the wrong people. I told each of my kids when they graduated, I said the two or three people you hang around with the most is gonna influence on your future, and you know, just like I said, it happened, and so when something wasn't going right, I said, "Let's look at your friends you've chosen". I said, "Well, that's why, look at this. You just only picking up what you hanging around". Okay, so let's not neglect community. That's all I gotta say about that. I could say a lot more about that but I really wanna get into this tonight.
So, we're backing up to number six, and this is overcoming. This is overcoming the devil, overcoming demons, and I believe you overcome the devil and demons by pleading the blood of Jesus and proclaiming the victory that Christ got over on Satan, pleading the blood of Jesus and proclaiming that victory. I'm not sure if Christians really know the victory that Jesus obtained for us, and I'm saying proclaimed the victory, and you don't know the victory, I'm saying plead the blood of Jesus, and you may not be completely aware of what the blood of Jesus has done. Let's start off with these scriptures, and I'm gonna share with you 25 things that the blood of Jesus has done so that when you declare it, you know what it has done, and I got stirred up looking at this, all right.
And so, let's look at Revelations 12:11 real quick and then Colossians 2:14 and 15 through the NLT, and we'll start there tonight. All right, look at this, he says, "And they overcame him," him meaning Satan, how? "By the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto death". I'm interested in how Jesus overcame Satan, and I'm interested in what I need to do to overcome him. Now, see, he's already been defeated, but he's still gonna be coming and dealing with us in our heart and in our mind, okay? Now, let's look at Colossians real quick, and I'll start with the list after this. Colossians chapter 2, verse 14 and 15, I'm gonna read it out of the NLT. He says, "He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross".
Now, what I want to show you is while there is a devil and while demons are real and they exist, I wanna show you that through the blood of Jesus, you have victory over every devil and every demon, and if anything shows up where you're being confronted, you have to remember you have victory over them. Plead the blood, what does that mean? I am going to declare what the blood of Jesus has already done.
See, Satan wants to pick at people who don't know what the blood has done, and so things might be going on in your life, and you need to realize, wait a minute, that's been taken care of by the blood of Jesus. If you are ignorant of what the blood has accomplished for you, then you will fall prey to the strategies and the enemy, and the strategies of the enemy is to get you where you're ignorant, to attack you where you don't know, and you could be putting up with something you don't have to put up with, calm down, I get excited just thinking about it, you don't have to put up with certain things. The devil wants to play with your mind. He wants to play with your mind. Your heart is composed of... I wish I had something to write on, like your heart is composed of your spirit, you soul together, and then you have your body on this side, right? But you have your soul, which connects to your body, and your soul, which connects to your spirit, but your soul is the target, it's the battleground.
So Satan, he really can't mess with your spirit because you're sealed in the Holy Ghost, glory be to God, but he can impact your body and your life, all right? If you don't understand the fact that that's the battleground for him, and you got to now what you know, because he's gonna come after you to see what you know, and that's why the Bible says, "He seeketh whom he may devour". He can't devour everybody, so he's got to seek you. What is he doing? Finding out what you know, finding out what you know. He cannot defeat a well-informed Christian. He can't do it. He can only do somebody that don't know nothing. So let's talk about these things that the blood of Jesus has accomplished for. I could talk forever on this, and I may go back and try it later, but let's look at this. You're gonna overcome the enemy by the blood of the Lamb, watch this, and the word of your testimony.
So what's the testimony? You're testifying about what the blood of Jesus has accomplished, testifying about what the blood of Jesus has accomplished. Every time you proclaim and testify about the accomplishments of the blood of Jesus, Satan is defeated. You maintain your victory over demons and devils, just by knowing that, and you've got to proclaim it, but how can you proclaim it when you don't know what has been accomplished? But when you know what has been accomplished and you start proclaiming it? Satan and demons wither because they know they can't deal with you 'cause of what you know about the blood of Jesus.
So we're not talking about overcoming him with a testimony of, you know, praise the Lord, I looked in my cabinet one day and, praise the Lord, and I didn't have no food to eat and, praise the Lord, somehow some pork and beans got in the cabinet. That ain't what he's talking about, but what he's talking about is praise God, I am the righteousness of God by the blood of Jesus, and then he comes and he tries to say, "You ain't no good," you say, "I've been cleansed by the blood of Jesus," and you begin to testify that way, give testimony of the blood of Jesus and what the blood of Jesus has accomplished, if you understand that, say amen.
Now, let's go with it, number one, I'mma give you at least one scripture to bear witness with this. Number one, this is what the blood of Jesus has accomplished. This is what you use in your testimony, this is what you proclaim. Number one, my debt is paid once and for all. What debt? The sin debt, according to Hebrews chapter 9 and verse 28. Let's read it in the King James and the NLT, Hebrews chapter 9:28, your debt, your debt, your sin debt has been paid, it has been paid. Look at what he says here in the Hebrews, he says, "So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation".
When I first read that, I said, okay, yeah, I get that, but when I read it in NLT, it really came home for me. Here it is, "So also Christ was offered once for all times as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people". Christ was offered once for all times to take away the sins of many people. All right, question, has Christ been offered? So if he's been offered, have all the sins been taken away? All right, so he will come again, but not to deal with our sins. Why won't he come to deal with our sins? Already dealt with, right, dealt with those sins. "Not to deal with our sins," but to do what? "To bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting him".
Jesus came and paid the price, the debt that you were in where sin is concerned is over. Your debt is paid once and for all, how? By the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. When he shed his blood, that debt of sin has been paid. See, you are more sin conscious than you are debt-paid conscious, you keep talking about your sins, your sins, your sins, and Jesus says I have taken away your sins. It has been paid for, and so when the enemy comes and even tries to tempt you to sin, you need to tell him, oh, that debt's been paid for. I plead the blood of Jesus on that, amen?
Number two, by the blood of Jesus, you are justified. Say, "I am justified". So by the blood of Jesus, you're justified. Romans 5:9 says, "Much more then, having now been justified by his blood, we shall be saved from the wrath to come". All right, you have been justified by his blood, say it again, I am justified by the blood of Jesus. All right, so I'm overcoming the devil. Every time he shows up, I'm like, "Satan, I've been justified by the blood of Jesus". Every time he comes up and tries to condemn you or accuse you of your sins, hey, I have been justified. You're gonna find out later on, justification is as if you've never sinned, man.
Number three, I am forgiven. By the blood of Jesus, I am forgiven. Look what it says in Ephesians 1:7, it says, in him we have redemption through his blood, and through is blood we have the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace. So, by the blood of Jesus, I am forgiven. By the blood of Jesus, I am justified. By the blood of Jesus, the sin debt has been paid once and for all. By the blood of Jesus, it's been handled, amen.
Number four, Romans chapter 5:9, number four, I am spared from God's wrath. Christians always going around, "God gonna get you, God gonna get you, God gonna get you". You are spared from the wrath of God. The stuff you read in the New Testament about the wrath of God and how all these things gonna happen, doesn't happen to you who are now born again. It says in verse 9, Romans 5:9, "Much more than, having now been justified by his blood, we shall be," what? "Saved," from what? "Wrath through him". We're gonna be saved from the wrath through him. I don't know what kind of wrath is getting ready to happen in this world, but by the blood of Jesus, I have been saved from that wrath because of the blood of Jesus, glory be to God. I might shout here, tonight, I'm telling you.
Number five, by the blood of Jesus, I am healed. I am healed by the blood of Jesus. So when sickness attacks your body or the Rona wanna try to come to your house, you need to open you mouth up and say, "Wait a minute, by the blood of Jesus, I am healed. There's no sickness that has ever touched my body that I didn't defeat it by proclaiming and pleading the blood", I mean, even in the midst of a hot temperature or whatever, I'm opening my mouth up and I'm declaring, "By the blood of Jesus, I'm healed. By the blood of Jesus, I'm healed, achoo". See, I'm not looking at this. I'm looking at what Jesus has done. By the blood, I am healed, and eventually everything gotta start lining up because I'm overcoming by the blood of Jesus, amen. Are you all getting this now?
All right, number six, watch this, this a big one, 1 John 1:7, I am cleansed, I am cleansed. 1 John 1:7 says, "But 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". You need to begin to declare that. "I am cleansed". Even when you do stupid stuff, the next thing you ought to do after you done did stupid, "I'm cleansed".
All right, now see, the devil is the accuser of the brethren. So, what he's gonna do immediately saying he's gonna remind you of sin. "You sinned, you did this, you did that". You gotta open your mouth up and you say, "No, I'm cleansed by the blood of Jesus," y'all know, and you just act crazy, but this is the faith walk: I am cleansed, you overcome, I am cleansed by the blood of Jesus. "No, you ain't. No, you not. God saw you. Who do you think you are? I know you felt a fool going to church lifting your hands up after what you did".
How do you respond to the voice of the devil? I have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus. You think, "Naw, can't nobody do that. That's just playing with God". Well, what about the Apostle Paul who persecuted the church, who was behind Steven's death and all kinds of people went through stuff? Here's what Paul said, "I have wronged no man. I have defrauded no man," and I'm thinking, "Yes, yes, you did. Three pages to the left, you did it". And Paul said, "I have wronged no man. I have defrauded no man".
What was Paul doing? He was accepting the fact that he's been cleansed by the blood of Jesus, and the only, only place where that sin exists is in your memory, and I'mma show you in a minute that your memory hasn't even been impacted by the blood of Jesus, but by faith, you gotta lay hold of that. And it might take you more than one minute. I mean, when cancer attacked my body, every time the fear would come on me, I'd walk up and down the hallway. Lord, I thank you by the blood that I'm healed. Lord, I just give you praise right now, by the blood of Jesus, I'm healed. And that testimony and me testifying out loud and declaring it out loud, it just kind of, it switched everything around. I know I'mma be all right. Most people end up dying for the fear of death, but the blood of Jesus has delivered you from the fear of death, glory be to God.
All right, now, watch this. Number seven, Revelations 12:11, we read this. I have the power to overcome the enemy by the blood of Jesus. I have the power to overcome the enemy by the blood of Jesus. Overcome it how? He gonna put you in a headlock? No, he's talking here, he's speaking here. You got the power to overcome the things he's trying to convince you of with yourself. He's saying you're no good. He's saying that you're gonna die. No, you have the power to overcome him by the blood of Jesus.
Please understand this fight. This fight is not a physical fight. It is a fight right up here. The mind is the battleground. You have the power to overcome all of those suggestions and all of the strategy of the enemy to try to get this stuff to digest into your body and into your life, you have the power to overcome it. How do you do that? Revelations 12:11, "And they overcame him, and they overcame him," how? "By the blood of the Lamb, by the blood of the Lamb," and they gave testimony, "by the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives unto death". See, we have to overcome him by the blood of the Lamb. Ain't no use you speaking out, overcoming by the blood of Jesus. Start declaring what the blood of Jesus has done for you, praise God.
Number eight, I am no longer under the curse of the law, number eight, because of the blood of Jesus, I am no longer under the curse of the law. Look what he said in Galatians 3:13. "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone that hangs on the tree.')" Jesus hung on the tree so that you could be delivered from the curse of the law.
So there's no curse that's gonna come down on you from your momma, you daddy, from your grand-daddy, none of that stuff. It's over with. When Jesus died for you, he took upon all the curse, so don't you sit there and expect the curse of a relative to come on you. No, no, no, there are no more generational curses now that you're born again, because of the blood of Jesus, there are no generational curses, glory to God. Instead, you have generational blessings.
Whoo, Jesus, number nine. This is Ephesians 1:7, number nine, I have been reclaimed from the enemy by the blood. I've been reclaimed from the enemy by the blood. This verse of scripture says, "In him, we have redemption, we've been redeemed. We've been delivered through his blood," hallelujah. I've been delivered from the enemy through his blood, so every time you go back and looking at those old ways, testify I've been delivered from that by the blood of Jesus. If you lose your temper, I've been delivered from losing my temper by the blood of Jesus. If you go back to some weird thing you used to do, some closet secret, you just say it. I am delivered by the blood of Jesus from his.