I have been reading ‘Accessing the Courts of Heaven’ by Robert Henderson this morning. I have been significantly moved. The author asks us to contrast the blood of Abel with the shed blood of Christ to enable a better understanding of the blood ‘crying out’ for God to step in to act on a matter.
In Abel’s case, the Lord said to Cain (his murderer) , ‘the blood of your brother cries out from the earth for vengeance ‘ (see Genesis 4:10). In the case of Jesus, the Lord God shows us that his blood cries (present continuous tense ) out for mercy and forgiveness , for his assailants (yes forgiveness) for those who forsook and murdered him), which includes me and you.
I am sitting reflecting on this in a new way , ie as a mother for a son taken unjustly . It is 5:00 am in the morning but for the first time my spirit man is raised in indignation for this assault and in a generation where life is taken so cheaply.
Eve was still alive when Abel was murdered and she went onto have another son Seth… but you can’t replace a child for another and one cannot but, understand her grief. The plans she must have for Abel, taken so abruptly and by the hand of his brother. You can almost hear the exasperation and horror in the voice of God as he exclaimed to Cain ‘What have you done?” . From then on the spirit of murder and and untimely death reigned here on earth.
Fast forward to Calvary.
We know Jesus’ mother would have been severely distressed to see her son stripped, whipped and hung on a cross to die when he was innocent – came to seek and save that which was lost – The book of John 19:25 records her as being there at the foot of the cross.
The pain of a mother’s heart, the indignation, the injustice of a life taken just went to a new level, in my understanding and as I am reading today.
I am moved in my spirit not because I have only just realised the atrocity that happened to our Lord, but something else has shifted in my spirit.
What is that you might well ask?
It is the sense of the depth of sacrifice made for us by and through the shedding of his blood.
Jesus was moved to compassion to stand in the gap for us on the cross and we know there was a plan and a purpose of redemption through this selfless act. His death and shed blood, brought immunity to us , immunity from eternal damnation if we, but would receive it from his spent cup.
The issue of the blood that speaks, is so deep.. I am only just touching the surface.
What is the message of salvation and the blood that I seek to impart here?
If we can but catch a little of the love and compassion a mother has for her children(see also the diplomatic immunity case that is currently in the news ) it will assist us in understanding the heartfelt fervency, the sense of indignation from a mother, a father against an injustice happening to a son or a daughter. This is the sense of indignation our God had for us – that he said ‘let the blood of my son speak…. no other remedy for you and I, was possible. No other person was found worthy.
Our Lord Jesus laid down his life willing for us (the innocent for the guilty) so that we can be pardoned from our sins – namely our salvation – the clearing of past sins (from Adam) and whenever we might sin in the future – if ….we receive it by faith in his Name.
Once through….washed and sanctified, we have access to the Father, the righteous judge, through the courts of heaven again through his blood. The blood, shed, brings a perpetual washing – not just once a year (like under the old mosaic law and covenant ), but a new and better way, daily access and once and for all.
In terms or prayer and intercession, (which is the subject matter of Henderson book) the shed blood of Jesus meted out mercy and grace and pardon, so we can approach his courts , not only for ourselves but for others in His Name.
Indeed, the author writes ‘when you start picking what the shed blood of Jesus did and does, it cannot but stir up the passion of God inside of you to enter into his courts to get the job done (through prayer and intercession) and to ensure we utilise the power of the blood calling on his Name.
If we can grasp and understand the authority we have been given and be able to use that in prayer and intercession, we can intercede correctly and wrest the souls of our children, our nations back from the land of he enemy and do greater things (I see body parts being restored) in His name.
Reader, the shed blood of Jesus speaks to better things than that of Abel’s- it is redemptive, full of mercy and was shed for all.
I will leave you with the following imperatives:
- In times of peril, let the blood speak
- In situations of death, disease and distress, let the blood speak.
Let the shed blood of Jesus speak into your life and into that situation . Call on it, claim it. It was shed for me and for you and for this very reason , that we can come boldly to the throne of grace .
Pursue your birthright, the remedy for your sin which is found in faith in Jesus Christ.
The blood of Jesus spoke (and is speaking )and will forever be a testimony for you in the courts of heaven.
Let the blood speak and silence the accuser of the brethren, in Jesus’ Name.
Evangelist Linda J
14/12/19