Robin McMillan and I get together a couple of times a week just to talk, and some really profound revelations come from these times. He made a great point recently when he shared how in Christ, we become members of the lineage of Christ—the noblest lineage on earth. Now consider this: Adam and Eve sinned; Noah got drunk; Abraham and Isaac were willing to give their wives to heathens to protect themselves; Jacob lied, cheated, schemed, and stole. Moses was a murderer, Rahab was a harlot, King David was a murderer and adulterer, and the list goes on. This is the lineage of the King of kings—the Messiah!
The point is that we all need grace and mercy. We are told that we will reap what we sow, so if we want to reap grace we must sow grace every chance we get. If we want to reap mercy, we should sow mercy every chance we get, and how much more so to God’s children. Think about how you would feel if anyone treated one of your kids harshly. This is why we are commanded that when we restore others we do it in gentleness—these are God’s own children we are dealing with, and He loves them regardless of what they have done.
Let us resolve that we will not limit the power of the cross to save, heal, redeem, reconcile, and restore. We limit the power of the cross when we view anyone as beyond its reach. We limit it when we set time or other limits on its ability to save and restore.
The worst enemy of the Lord when He walked the earth were the Pharisees, the religious conservatives of His day. The most hardened, radical, and cruel Pharisee of the time appeared to be Saul of Tarsus. He was enraged at the young church and persecuted Christians to their death beginning with the first Christian martyr, Stephen. Even this man, likely the greatest enemy of the faith, was not beyond the power of the cross, ultimately turning him into possibly the greatest apostle and greatest defender of the faith.
II Kings 3:26-27 tells one of the more bizarre stories in the Scriptures, one that fortifies the spiritual principle of the power of sacrifice during a battle between Israel and Moab:
When the king of Moab saw that the battle was too fierce for him, he took with him 700 men who drew swords, to break through to the king of Edom; but they could not.
Then he took his oldest son who was to reign in his place, and offered him as a burnt offering on the wall. And there came great wrath against Israel, and they departed from him and returned to their own land.
Unfortunately, satanic worshipers seem to understand the power of sacrifice better than many Christians at this time. If such a demonic sacrifice of his son by a heathen king could have such power, how much more power does the sacrifice of the Son of God have?
There is nothing more powerful in all of creation than the blood of the Lamb, which is why it is written: "They overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb,” (see Revelation 12:11). This power is released by simple faith in the sacrifice of Jesus. It covers the believers and can protect those who believe from anything. This is the power that we must walk in at the end of the age.
Those whose fellowship is with demons must make a new sacrifice for everything. Jesus made one sacrifice for all and for all time. There does not need to be a new sacrifice for each need, but simple faith in what Jesus accomplished on the cross. His sacrifice is enough to cover all.
In I Corinthians 1:18, we are told that the cross is “the power of God.” There is no greater power in the universe than the power of God, and therefore there is no greater power than the cross. Believe in it. Grow in your faith in the cross of the Son of God. There is no greater preparation for the unfolding times that we could make than this.
