The Cleansing Blood

[0:00] 1 John 1 verse 7 The gospel story. The cleansing blood. The blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin.

[0:40] The blood cleanses the guilty conscience. In contrast with the blood of bulls and goats, in Hebrews 9 verse 14 it says, How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

[1:03] From dead works to serve the living God. This cleansing power is available right now, right here. And we hear of this deep cleansing action that can clear the guilty, the guilty heart, the guilty conscience of all its stains, that a heart can be purified by faith.

[1:23] Now the agent is the blood, the action is by faith, by God's grace. And on God's authority, I declare to you today that a man can be cleansed from his sin, from all his sin.

[1:36] Now in our physical body, the blood has a cleansing action. It's your blood that carries away the toxins and the wastes from yourselves. The blood of Jesus Christ is greater still, that it can cleanse the foulest clean.

[1:51] 1 John 1 verse 7, But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we shall have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth us from all sin.

[2:07] One night there was an evangelist returning home from a service, and suddenly he was robbed. This bandit came out of nowhere, and the thief found, for his sake sadly, that his victim had little that he could take.

[2:22] Just some little money and some Christian literature. And as this bandit was leaving the scene, the preacher called out, Stop! I have something more to give you!

[2:33] And the surprised robber turned around, he paused, thought, Who is this? This is fruitcake. And he says, My friend, you may live to regret this sort of life.

[2:43] If ever you do, here's something to remember. The blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth us from all sin.

[2:54] And the thief hurried away from the scene, and the preacher prayed that his words might bear fruit. And years later, as that preacher was greeting people, one day after a service, a stranger approached him.

[3:07] What a surprise it was for him to learn that this person was now a believer in Christ, and a successful person was the one who had robbed him years before.

[3:20] And this man, he said to the preacher, I owe it all to you. Oh no, my friend, exclaimed the preacher, not to me, but to the precious blood of Christ that cleanseth us from all sin.

[3:33] Now we stop and reflect today on the value of the blood, the power of the blood, the cleansing action of the blood. Whatever your defilement today, however deep and gross your defilement today, the blood can make you fully clean.

[3:49] It cleanseth us from all our sin. And a like story, many years ago, there was an evangelist that preached on this same text. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us from all sin.

[4:07] And after he preached the message, a stranger approached him and asked the man if he would walk home with him. And people cautioned the preacher against this. They knew what kind of man this was.

[4:19] They advised against it. And ushering the preacher into the rear of the building, his home, the stranger locked the door and he put the key in his pocket.

[4:34] And he pulled out a revolver. And he said, Don't be afraid. I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to ask you a few questions. Do you believe what you preach tonight?

[4:47] The preacher said, I most certainly do. The man continued, We're in the back of a saloon. I'm a sole proprietor. Mothers come in here and lay their babies on the counter and beg me not to sell liquor to their husband.

[5:03] I turn a deaf ear to their cry. We see to it here when a man is leaving, he's well under the influence. And more than one night have men been killed after leaving in a drunken state.

[5:17] Tell me, Can God forgive a man like me? He replied, I have but one authority, the Word of God, which says, The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us from all sin.

[5:39] He told how he'd used the revolver. And people had got killed with that same revolver. But that's not all, said the man. In another room, we run a gambling hall.

[5:52] And if a man doesn't spend all of his money at the bar, we take him round the back to use him up for his last dollar. And we send him home penniless to a hungry family.

[6:05] I'm the sole owner. Tell me honestly, Can God forgive a man like me? A man with a heart like that? And the preacher replied, I have but one authority, the Word of God, which says, The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us from all sin.

[6:31] The man spoke again, That's not all. Across the street is my home, where live my wife and little daughter. Neither one has had a kind word from me for five years.

[6:42] Their bodies bear the marks of my brutal attacks. Do you think God would forgive a man with a heart like that? The preacher's head lowered, his eyes filled with tears, and he said, My friend, you've painted a very dark picture, the darkest I've ever had to gaze on, but I still have one authority, which says, The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us from all sin.

[7:12] The man opened the door, he ushered the preacher into the night, and never left that room till daybreak, not before ripping up decks of cards, and smashing, and pouring contents of bottles down the sink.

[7:26] And across the road, a little girl came as he sat in the living room and called out, Daddy, Mother has breakfast ready.

[7:38] And when he answered his little girl kindly, she ran back to her mother, Daddy spoke kindly to me, something is the matter. And the mother followed her little girl to the living room, and the man pulled her closely, and taking one on each knee, he explained to their amazement, Wife, Daughter, you needn't be afraid of me anymore.

[8:02] God has brought you home a new man, a new daddy, a new husband today. And he ended, I'm done with the business across the street.

[8:15] And that same night, this man and his family professed Christ. When asked to tell how his life had changed, he would reply, the blood of Jesus Christ, God's son, cleanseth us from all sin.

[8:32] Friends, the cleansing is his. The action is faith. The agent is the blood. And the glory is all to him. All to his praise and honour.

[8:44] In Revelation 1, at the back of the book, it says, unto him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father.

[9:00] To him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Bless God. Please, sir, if the stewards can come, we'll pass the bread and cup as we further reflect on the blood that we shed.

[9:17] So have Bob, Peter, Roy, Moses, perhaps Joshua could help. Moses isn't here. Thanks, brother. Let's wait on one another.

[9:27] The Bible speaks of the blood, speaks of the table, it speaks of the Lord's Supper. And there's an extended invitation today to anyone who believes that we can partake of the bread that speaks of his broken body, of the blood reflected in the cup that we partake.

[9:46] So let's wait for one another and take the bread and the cup and hold and we'll pray together and partake together. The word cautions us to not eat carelessly but to eat carefully and to not judge others but judge ourselves.

[10:08] Take a look at yourself this morning and know that the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us from all sin. Now this is a symbol of that blood, a symbol of that body today.

[10:22] There's nothing special about the physical items that you're being handed today but the significance is in the spiritual picture that is painted here today.

[10:38] the same night in which he was betrayed he took bread he said take it this is my water which is broken for you this do in remembrance of me the cup he said this cup is the new testament in my blood this do as often as you drink it in remembrance of me and let's prayerfully consider the blood has a wonderful cleansing power and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from some sin no all sin all sin big sins little sins every sin his blood avails today it's available right now as we trust him it's taken it's removed in an instant for an eternity it's gone gone forever gone in the sea of his forgetfulness the stains are all gone the guilt is all gone the conscience the heart the soul can be purified by faith by

[11:47] God's great mercy and love what a wonder the wonder of it all the wonder of Calvary the wonder of the perfect one and his perfect blood shed freely for us willingly deliberately intentionally in grace for us and in grace let us acknowledge it today perhaps you might want to still your hearts and consider your standing your state your heart and let the blood be applied as it was to the houses of the children of Israel and safety was there as we apply the blood as it were by faith he can affect a wonderful change as we've seen the stories of those transformed lives God is still in the wonder working business while he still tarries there's still time to come unto him all you who labor and are heavy laden and he shall give you rest rest for your soul you can purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living

[13:07] God but if we walk in the light as he is in the light we have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus Christ his son cleanses us from all sin all time to