The Power of Redemption

As you read the first chapter of Ephesians, it speaks of the many blessings God has provided for us through his Son Jesus Christ. But the one I would like to share about is “redemption” which is spoken of in verse 7 because there is power in the redemptive blood of Christ!

“In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.” (Ephesians 1:7).

Redemption is a ransoming. It is payment for the release of a person or property that’s been detained, hindered, or held back. It’s a deliverance from that which became bondage to the people of God in relation to sin and death. But through the death of Jesus Christ, the debt of sin was paid off! He rescued us from loss and purchased or made atonement for us with his blood!

Through the power of redemption, he didn’t just deliver us from the power of sin, but he delivered us from the guilt of it!

First the “power of sin” brought on death! Sin is an offence or violation of a duty or command. It’s to “miss the mark or goal of that which has been set in place for us to attain”. Once that mark has been missed or veered from, there’s a termination or cessation of receiving the benefits that one could have had by staying on course.

(St. John 10:10) ”The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

In relation to sin, religion has told us that we cannot live free from sin as long as we are in a flesh body. But whose report are you going to believe - religious order or our Kinsman Redeemer? (Romans 8:2-3) ”For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh”!

There are other scriptures that let us know that the “power of redemption” has rescued our bodies as well as our soul and spirit from sin, but I’m only going to touch on a few. Jesus rescuing us from the power of sin cancelled the death sentence! (Colossians 2:13-14) ”And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened (made alive) together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, NAILING IT TO HIS CROSS”! Remember, he sealed this victory with his “resurrection!” (1 Thessalonians 5:23) ”And I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

This does not say until the coming but unto the coming. This means that we can reach the point (unto) that the total of Christ is manifested in and through us!

That’s why we have to not just get saved, but we must be born again! (1 John 3:9) ”Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God”! We must progress from just being saved (rescued) because we must go through the metamorphosis of the regeneration process of being made whole! Read these scriptures at your convenience: (Romans 6:12-14, 8:19-23; 1 Corinthians 15:53-55).

Keep in mind that this birthing process is brought forth by the incorruptible seed, which is the Word of God! This incorruptible seed is undecaying and immortal. It has been made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel! (1 Peter 1:23;

2 Timothy 1:10) WHAT AN AWESOME GOD! This is all by the “power of redemption”!

Secondly, the “power of redemption” has delivered us from the guilt of sin! Guilt is the condemning of oneself of an offence or wrong doing. But if we confess it [acknowledge; admit], God will forgive and cleanse us from it. (1 John 1:9) ”If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” And in addition to that God won’t even remember it anymore! (Jeremiah 31:34) ”For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” God hasn’t changed! He is the same yesterday, today, and forever! The problem is us forgiving ourselves. Once God has forgiven us, we must forgive ourselves and move on!! We must believe Romans 8:1, “There is now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit”!

This is the purging of the conscience, the cleansing or purifying of our minds of dead works and things of the past that we don’t have to be condemned about. One more thing, those who want to live in your past, let them, and you and God move on!! That’s what is meant in Hebrews 6:1 “Not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works”! Don’t live under a cloud of condemnation about your past, and don’t let anyone else hold you there; confess it, accept God’s forgiveness, forgive yourself and be free!! Because it is all made possible through the power of the redemptive blood of Jesus, The Christ!

~ Apostle Gracie Perry

How is Your Walk with Christ?

Brethren, it's past time that we, as God's people, put away all foolishness and wresting of the scriptures to suite our personal gain. There is no profit in this. (2 Peter 3:16) What does one gain by twisting what God hath already said? Roman 15:4 declares that “whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning”. The word of God is already “settled” in heaven (Psalm 119:89). We have the opportunity to search the scriptures to see if those things we have learned line up with the truth (Acts 17:11) and to make sure our lives line up with what has already been written.

Before going any further, let's define “settle”. “Settle” means to put in a definite order, position or condition to make or become clear. Mind you, the word of God is written for our learning. We must learn to depart from evil. Fear the Lord and depart from evil (Provers 3:7). Being wise in our own eyes causes conflicts in our lives. Only the truth of God can make us free in our minds (John 8:32).

The mind must be renewed so that the thought process will be transformed and the mind of Christ will be manifested in our daily lives, not just when we go to church on our special day. (Ephesians 4:23, Philippians 2:5). Going to church doesn't make you a Christian. The church building is a place of assembly for God's people and for the preaching and teaching of the Word. But what are you doing the rest of the time? You are responsible for searching and studying the Word for yourselves with the assistance of the Holy Spirit. (2 Timothy 2:15, Acts 17:11)

The Word of God hath been written for our learning and for the eyes of our understanding to be enlightened that we may know his perfect will and the exceeding greatness of his mighty power that is able to change us (Ephesians 1:18-19) because we believe the truth.

What the truth does is expose and makes known the foolishness in the heart of man., Anything that's exposed and reproved by the light of the Word is made visible and clear that even a child can understand (Ephesians 5:13).

Now you decide – is it going to be God's perfect will? Do you want to awake out of spiritual sleep and allow God to do of his good pleasure in your life? (Ephesians 5:14)

Let us all be wise men and women of God living in the light of the Word and experiencing the life and freedom that hath been given us.

- Minister Linda Lawrence

The Truth, the Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth - Part 3 of 3

Part 3

Remember the 5 previous examples of what we were told when we were growing up? Let me explain them to you now:

1) “We have to get ready to die to be with Jesus.”
The truth is we don't have to die because God created our bodies to live. Yes, it happens all around us, but we don't have to. St. John 6:51: “I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” St. John 5:25: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.”

2) “He's soon to come.” The truth is that when they say he is soon to come, He's already here, and his coming is a continual coming. Every time I'm in need, He comes; every time I pray for something specific, He answers; when 2 or 3 are touching and agreeing in His name, He comes; even alone in worship and prayer, He comes. He's a Spirit and He's in us. St. John 4:24: “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” When we praise him, we raise him!

3) We have no power.” They said we don't have power, but the truth is that Jesus said in Luke 10:19 “Behold, I give unto you power (Exousia - in the sense of ability – means privilege, force, capacity, freedom, mastery, superhuman, delegated influence, authority, jurisdiction, liberty, right, strength) to tread on serpents (through the idea of sharpness – a snake as a type of sly; cunning; artful, malicious person) and scorpions (to pierce; a scorpion from its sting), and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” These kinds of spirits are already working in the church as verified by Jesus in Matthew 23:33 when he said “Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?”

Revelation 2:26 states”And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations.” (the same power as in Luke)

4) “We can't heal anybody.” They say you can't heal anybody. Truth is that Jesus said in Mark 16:18 “They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” St. John 20:22-23: “And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted (forgiven) unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.”

Luke 4:18: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.”

5) “You're not God.” They have told us we are not God. Truth is that Jesus said in Psalm 82:6 “I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.”

St. John 10:33-34: “The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?”

Jesus said it so that settles it! After all, who's report will you believe? I will believe the report of the Lord. Romans 3:4: “let God be true, but every man a liar”. Beloved we must tell the truth – the whole truth! Know that we will lose friends. People will separate themselves from you. Those who will uphold God's standards of truth, justice and purity and who at the same time refuse to compromise with society lifestyles of lukewarm believers will surely undergo unpopularity, rejection and criticism.

None of these things feels good, but we have to tell the truth. Its amazing how folks get mad with you when you tell the truth. Expect that, but rejoice and be exceedingly glad!

Let us speak the truth with boldness . This truth is filling the whole earth, and we are messengers and have been commanded to go into all the world and preach the Good News! As we go, we must 1) be BOLD, 2) not be afraid, and 3) not compromise. For we must tell the Truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

- Evangelist Mary Perry