Redigging The Wells Of The Fathers - Case Study: Redemption by Dr David Ogbueli: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

The Problem — Man Crawling Toward Destruction

Billy Graham illustrated the human condition this way: imagine a line of ants crawling toward fire. The ones at the front have burned and died, yet the ones behind keep moving — and sometimes even pushing those ahead of them. Some, even on the edge, cannot turn back because the momentum of those behind pushes them over.

That is exactly what is happening to human beings. The same sins that have destroyed many, others are lined up committing. God was looking for a way to redeem man. But talking to a human being as God is like a human being talking to an ant — there is no communication across the divide.

You come and put your leg in the path of the ants to stop them. They climb over your leg and continue. So finally God said, "I have to find a way to reach these people. The only way is to come to their level — I have to become like one of them."

The Meeting in Heaven

Imagine a family meeting. A child has been kidnapped and is in the kidnapper's den — the next thing is execution. What do you do? The family decides: we cannot let our son die. But who will go? And if you go, there is risk. The kidnappers can capture you too.

Two things were needed: the ransom, and someone willing to carry it. In Matthew 20:28, the Son of Man came not to be ministered to but to minister, to give his life as a ransom for many. In 1 Peter 1:18-19, you were not redeemed with corruptible things such as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish.

To purchase a human life, money cannot do it. The life of man is required to pay for man. But not any man — it has to be a righteous man. If you have sinned, your death pays only for your own sin. A sinless man, however, is qualified to bail others.

The Risk Jesus Took

When Jesus laid aside his divinity — because the requirement was to come as man, not as God, since a divine death could not purchase man's redemption — he became genuinely vulnerable. In Philippians 2:7-8, he took the form of a servant, was made in the likeness of men, and was obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

Satan was very happy to have Jesus captured and killed. His mistake was that he did not know Jesus would rise. He thought, "When I kill him, I still hold everyone." But Jesus had already declared in John 10:17-18: "No one takes my life from me. Of my own accord I lay it down, and I have power to take it up again."

He said, "The world will know that I love my Father. As he has given me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go." And from there they went to Gethsemane, and from Gethsemane to the cross. It was his greatest demonstration of obedience and love.

It Was Legal, Not Just Powerful

The reason all of this matters is that spiritual warfare is not fought only with power — it is frequently fought in a courtroom. It is a legal battle. The wages of sin is death. That is the law governing the universe. The claim of justice must be satisfied. No amount of divine power can bypass the legal requirement without violating the very nature of justice that upholds creation.

This is why Satan constantly goes to the court of heaven to accuse us. He cannot touch you until he can prove his legal case. And this is why immediately after Jesus died and rose, he returned to the right hand of the Father — not merely as a guest, but as an advocate. In 1 John 2:1, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. As a lawyer. As a surety. As a guarantor who died and rose to guarantee what he died for.

What Was Purchased on the Cross

The front of the cross is salvation. The penalty that should have come upon you — God laid it on Jesus. He carried the judgment so that God can now declare you not guilty. Justification means to be declared not guilty. He took your sin and gave you his righteousness.

The back of the cross is healing. In Isaiah 53, he was beaten until his visage was marred beyond any man. Thirty-nine strokes of the whip. That suffering was for your healing. He took your pain and gave you his health. He took your weakness and gave you the power of the Holy Spirit.

Satan cannot ask for a second payment. Your sins have been judged. Your sickness has been judged. Nobody can hold you back in bondage because Jesus has taken your place in judgment. A man in a wheelchair who receives this revelation does not need to wait for prayer — he can stand and walk because he now understands what was legally purchased.

How to Enforce What Has Been Purchased

In Revelation 12:11, they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. The blood is the price already paid. The word of your testimony is your voice of enforcement. Once you articulate what the blood has done — I am forgiven, I am free from condemnation, I am free from judgment, this sickness has no right to stay — you have provided the legal basis for the angels to act.

Those angels are here to enforce. They are not spectators. They are the military, and they need legal backing to act. The moment you give your voice, they can enforce — because you are operating on legal ground.

You are not begging the devil. You are exercising authority over territory that has been purchased. In the name of Jesus Christ, Son of God, I command you to release. And the forces respond.

He who comes to God for salvation, God will never turn away. He who comes to God for healing, God will never refuse. For the same Lord is rich unto all that call upon him. In Romans 10:12-13 and Acts 10:34-35, God is no respecter of persons. In every nation, anyone who fears him and calls upon him is accepted of him.

When the revelation of the cross dawns on you — that it was me he died for, my sins, my bondage, my addictions — nobody needs to convince you of anything. The change it produces is radical. He had you on his mind. It was you. He took your place.