Power In The Blood by Apostle Emmanuel Iren: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

The First Recorded Death Was a Sacrifice

A quick Bible quiz: what is the first recorded physical death in the Bible? Most people say Abel — but Abel was the first human to die. He was not the first recorded death in the Bible.

The Bible tells us in Genesis 3:21 that after Adam and Eve had sinned, they were ashamed of their nakedness and cut leaves to cover themselves. God said no. What God did was cover them with the skin coat of an animal. An animal died.

So the first recorded death in the Bible was not murder. It was sacrifice.

Then in Genesis 4, Cain and Abel came to worship the Lord. Cain brought of the produce of the ground. Abel brought an animal — the first and the best. God had respect for Abel's sacrifice. Abel killed something.

The second recorded death in the Bible was also not murder. It was sacrifice. The Bible is showing a pattern, a spiritual protocol. Few pages in, and the scripture is already teaching how things are done in the spirit realm.

The two cases share something in common. When Adam sinned, he felt ashamed. Like many, he had the proclivity to want to fix it himself. He got leaves from the garden — symbolic of his works. He was trying to use his own works to fix his error. And God said no.

Your works cannot cover you. Your efforts cannot cover you. Even your faithfulness cannot be your access, your ticket to a thrice holy God.

Many believers still approach God with the subconscious tendency to depend on their works. God says blood must cover you. Leaves cannot. Whether you fall or stand, your righteousness is in the blood. Your access is in the blood. Your covering is in the blood. Your confidence is in the blood.

The Spiritual Courtroom

The spiritual realm operates like a courtroom. There is a judge. There is an accuser. There is a defense attorney. There is a law. And there is the accused.

In the realm of the spirit, there is one profession every believer must master — we are all, in a spiritual metaphorical sense, lawyers. Proficient in interpreting the word of God to know what is freely given and to stand upon it.

• God is the Judge. Genesis 18:25 — Shall not the Judge of the whole earth do right? He is Abba Father, but he is also Judge. Psalm 50:6 — God is judge himself.
• Satan is the Accuser. Satan is not a name; it is a job description. From the Hebrew word meaning accuser or one who opposes. In Zechariah 3:1–2, Satan stood at Joshua's right hand to oppose him — that was his job. He is always looking for how to stop, oppose, and accuse.
• Jesus is the Advocate. 1 John 2:1 — If anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. These are legal terms. We have a defense attorney.

In the Old Testament, because man was fallen, the accuser could stand in the courts of heaven and bring accusations. God, being a righteous judge, would hear all sides. That is not bias — that is justice.

What the Blood Changed

When man sinned, the accuser was in business. And it gets worse — through deception, the enemy led many to surrender their will in false religious worship. When a person uses the free will God gave them to bow before another god and offer sacrifices, they have submitted themselves. This is how many lineages entered bondage. There are principles in the spirit: principles of substitution, ransom, and redemption.

Substitution refers to the act of someone taking the place of a sinner — bearing their penalty, their judgment, their consequences. The blood of bulls and goats in the Old Testament could not take away sin, but they pointed to Christ. The high priest dare not enter the most holy place without blood. It is not how well behaved you are. Even the most decent among us does not qualify before a thrice holy God. We must be covered in blood.

Ransom is the price paid to secure the release of someone held in bondage. Redemption is to buy back or reclaim something that was lost or enslaved.

God had a plan. Just as the serpent concealed his real intent, God concealed his. Satan, seeing the opportunity at the baptism — This is my beloved Son — tried hard to take him down. But if he had known, he would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

Hebrews 12 — his blood speaks better things. The same way Abel's blood could cry from the ground for vengeance and vindication, the blood of Jesus now speaks: yes, they are guilty, but I paid.

Then something changed. Revelation 12:10 — Now salvation and strength and the kingdom of our God and the power of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren who accused them before our God day and night has been cast down.

Because of Christ, God will never listen to what the enemy has to say. But here is what must be understood: there is still someone who will listen — and that is you. If the enemy keeps reminding you that you are not good enough, that has nothing to do with God's courtroom. The accuser of the brethren has been cast down. The question is whether you see him seated or falling.

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit. The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made us free.

He died as us. He was buried as us. He was raised as us. When he ascended, the Bible says we are seated with him in heavenly places. The accuser fell and we ascended. There is no strong man over any life that is in Christ. Isaiah 49:25 — I will contend with those that contend with you and save your children, says the Lord.

Just Because It Is Your Right Does Not Mean You Should Not Defend It

The devil games many believers because they do not know their rights. Just because it is your right does not mean they will give it to you without a fight. The enemy is always looking to see if you are flinching in your authority. James 4:7 — Resist the devil and he will flee. Your victory in the blood gives you assurance to resist — it does not mean there will be no need for resistance.

The enemy is defeated, but he will still try you. If you do not know your right, he will take advantage of you.

Revelation 12:11 — They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives even unto death.

This is how the blood is applied — by the word of testimony. The protocol for salvation is the protocol for warfare. Romans 10:9 — Believe in your heart and confess with your mouth.

What belief that moves the needle is believing loyalty. Not perfection, but you must believe enough to act. What you believe influences your actions.

How to Apply the Blood

In the story of the Passover, it was not a matter of nationality or faithfulness. What exempted the household was the blood on the lintel. The lamb could be slain, but the blood still needed application. The blood of Jesus has been shed — but the application is through declaration and meditation.

• By the word of testimony — declare it daily. Confess what you believe about the blood.
• By meditation — as Moses lifted up the brazen serpent in the wilderness, the act of beholding brought healing. Meditating on the cross and the work of Christ can remove years of oppression without a single additional prayer. Some have been delivered simply by sitting with and confessing what Christ has done.
• By communion — throughout the Old Testament it was an abomination to drink blood, and then Jesus comes and says This is my blood, shed for you. Drink it. There is life in that blood. Colossians 2:14–15 — he wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, nailed it to the cross, disarmed principalities and powers, and made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them.

He has seized their weapons. This is why no power of darkness can ultimately harm those who are in Christ. Luke 10:19 — You shall trample upon serpents and scorpions and over all the ability of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means harm you.

The mind must be renewed. The enemy is always looking to see if you are flinching. Stand. Be bold. These signs shall follow them that believe.

When he was buried you were buried with him. When he was raised you were raised with him. Anyone looking for you in the grave — surrounded by some negative curse — is checking the wrong address.

Luke 24:5–6 — Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, he is risen.

I separate myself from any symptom or trace of death by faith in the blood. I am seated with Christ in heavenly places, far above principalities and powers, far above sickness and disease, far above every strategy of the enemy. The blood of Jesus is efficacious in my life when I am conscious and when I am sleeping. Every wickedness in my family has been exposed and disgraced. The accuser of the brethren has been cast down. I am sealed by the blood. There is a touch-not mark on me. I am a child of God.

In the name of Jesus, all my sins are blotted out. I repent of them. I hate them. I forsake them. Jesus, and Jesus alone, will I serve. My family will serve only Jesus. My children will serve only Jesus. Anyone in my lineage who served any other god — I repent of that sin and I declare Jesus alone is God. Anyone I have held in my heart in unforgiveness — I forgive them now. Whatever I did that gave the enemy an inroad, I repent of it and I forsake it. Right now I stand boldly in the liberty of Christ to decree and declare that my life belongs to Jesus, my family belongs to Jesus, my lineage belongs to Jesus. Therefore, any negative activity around my life — be expelled. In the name of Jesus.