The Blood Speaks — Michael Koulianos

The Endurance and Daily Cost of the Cross

I want to read Hebrews 12 to you. I know Dave mentioned it this morning. Don't turn there though. We'll put it on the screen just for the sake of being sensitive to the Lord. Just just listen to the Word of God.

Therefore, and as you know, that's the therefore pertaining to Hebrews 11, the great hall of fame of faith. Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross.

The cross is never fun. The cross is never fun. It's not supposed to be, and if you don't feel it, you don't have one. The cross is abrasive. It is rugged. It is heavy, and the Lord offers us this cross daily, as a daily offer.

What is the lifestyle of the cross? It is the lifestyle of choosing God's will, every time your will and his collide. When that intersection is presented, the lifestyle of the cross is to say, nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done.

Despising the shame, this is still verse 2, and I sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. I want to move to verse 18 here. I want you to listen carefully. I think the Western Church is so pragmatic.

Everything has to make perfect sense. The church itself has to fit our structure and our minds. But I've been telling you for months, there's really only one true worship service in God's opinion. True worship services down here discover the reality and the culture of what is happening in the throne room, by studying the scriptures and yielding to the Spirit.

And all of us have received from that, all of us. I'm certainly not the architect of it. I tell people all the time, around the world, when they say we watch you every whatever, I say, I'm just really honored to have a parking spot and to be a really small piece of that puzzle.

From Sinai's Terror to Mount Zion's Heavenly Assembly

But when you discover there's one worship service, and this is really the language here, for you've not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire into blackness and darkness and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet speaking of Sinai, the voice of words, so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore, for they could not endure what was commanded.

And if so much as a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned or shot with an arrow. These are the Lord's commands to Moses. And so terrifying was that sight that Moses said, I am exceedingly afraid and trembling.

Paul's saying, you're not coming to that sort of mountain. You're not coming to a natural mountain. You're not coming to Sinai when you gather. Listen to verse 22. But you have come to Mount Zion, and he's not talking about Israel.

You've come to Mount Zion, in other words, a heavenly mountain. As Dave mentioned earlier, that heavenly mountain that one day will become our reality in the age to come. This heavenly mountain will collide with the earth.

The Lord will rule and reign. Oh, Jesus, what a mighty God. I said, what a mighty God. Don't you dare leave the same tonight. Don't you dare see Jesus in such an improper manner that would cause you to believe that your issue is bigger than him.

You've come to Mount Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. To an innumerable company of angels. To the General Assembly and Church of the Firstborn who are registered in heaven. Say, thank you, Jesus for registering your people in heaven.

To God, the judge of all. To the spirits of just men made perfect. To Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant. Did you know you are literally in the presence of the Lord right now? Literally. And to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.

Say this out loud. Say, the blood speaks. Say it again, the blood speaks. Hallelujah, hallelujah. What is the blood speaking? Revelation 5, 9, and 10. And they sang a new song. Saying, worthy are you to take the book.

Did you know there's only one found worthy to take the book? I said there's only one worthy. There was great sadness in heaven, John the Revelator wrote. But there was one found worthy to take the book and break the seal and open the scroll.

Just one. And he's the root of Jesse, the Lion of Judah. Be of good cheer, for he has overcome. The scripture says, he has overcome. Worthy are you to take the book and to break its seals. Why is he worthy?

For you were slain. You see, the cross is greatness to God. Jesus has redefined greatness. In his kingdom, the most humble are the greatest. There's only one place to go in his glory, and that's low. I used to hear Heidi say it all the time.

I just like to get low in his glory. And she has so many funny, cool little spunky sayings. They're loaded. This morning I was worshiping the 10 a .m. service, and I felt the Lord said to get down on the ground, and I heard that phrase, get low in his presence.

And Jesus has defined greatness. Through lowliness. It's always troubled me when we, in our weakness, in our fallen nature, start to believe that without us, without us, God's work will discontinue. But Paul said, I build on no foundation.

But the foundation that's already been laid, Jesus Christ, he's our chief cornerstone. And as long as Jesus is here, we're okay. I said, as long as Jesus is here, we're okay. As long as Jesus is with you, and you sense his presence, you're okay.

You carry in your heart, hopefully, the truth of the word of God. That he honors above his own name. And I wonder if we even realize how much the Father values the name of Jesus. He has given him the name above every name.

For a reason. Because he endured death, even the death of the cross, Philippians teaches us. And yet the Lord has chosen to honor his word above his own name. You don't have to spend another day defeated.

If you don't want to. Are you hearing me tonight? Learn to shake the devil off. And set your face on the face of the lamb. And that may upset some people. Let it. I said, let it. Don't you ever be a slave to people's opinions.

Rejecting the Fear of Man Through Spirit-Led Obedience

Listen, listen to me. When you lead a team, when you lead a team, it's not the easiest thing to lead them. They come in with dreams in their hearts, and you don't want to kill those, but you know God needs to.

Because that's the only way to be entrusted with them. And we always think we're way more ready to be entrusted than we really are. We always do. I used to sit in this building in the early 90s. And I used to hear some phrases that bothered me.

Like this one. I have no friends under the anointing. I used to think, well, that's a little extreme. It's so true. It's so true. You can't lead by the Spirit if you're yanked on by the opinions of people.

And I just wouldn't, to be honest with you, follow a leader who is yanked on by your opinions. Personally. That's not a man of God. That's called a man of men and women. I'm not talking about me. I'm talking to you.

The fear of the Lord demands instant obedience. And following the Lord at times can look insensitive. But Jesus walked on the Sea of Galilee and would have passed the boat right on by. Because he did not come to be led by the disciples.

He was led of the Father. And part of being used by the Spirit is losing, continually, progressively, thank God, the fear of man. Because in God's glory, this is not like some political agenda where you just spread it out all evenly.

Do you understand what I'm saying? You have to be more willing to hurt people than the heart of Jesus. Listen, you don't want to hurt people. But if you have to choose, don't hurt Jesus. To be led of the Spirit is exactly that.

To be led of the Spirit. And see, can I just maybe teach into some things tonight that maybe you've never heard of before? What I'm going to talk to you quickly, I'm not going to keep you long. But how many of you want to be used of the Holy Spirit more?

Okay. What I'm going to share with you, unless you came to Jesus School, this is a plug, you probably weren't going to hear much of, at least in my experience. The only reason I'm saying this is because I know I share it occasionally with certain students, and even in that case, not all.

I will give you something tonight that I've never taught on publicly. If you're led of the Spirit, you are signing up to be misunderstood. The offended, the judgmental, who've never done it, the more offended they become, the more opinionated they become.

And if you're not careful, those opinions can become shackles, your ability to move. Because oftentimes, the offended are entitled. And every time we feel entitled in God's glory, we distance ourselves from our destiny.

God owes us nothing. I want you to hear me. God owes me nothing. If we want to talk about receiving what we are owed, I deserve the fire of hell and nothing more. I'm not sure how this happened, but at some point, this became success, the platform.

Before God ever gave me a platform, Jess will tell you, there were people on the streets, and it was the same voice of the shepherd saying, pull over. Pray for that guy in the wheelchair. And this is the biblical pattern, you know?

Intimacy With God Before Public Ministry

In Exodus 33, don't, don't, don't turn there. You can just trust me. It's there. You can write it down. The Bible says something about Moses regarding his tent, that Moses would take his tent and take it outside the camp, speaking of a life of intimacy with God and separation.

And then eventually, all of Israel would stand up, knowing Moses went to his tent, the glory of the Lord would come to his tent. And that tent became known as the tent of the Lord. Then in Exodus 37, God calls a man named Bezalel.

The Holy Spirit is poured out on him, and through the wisdom of God, he builds, or I should say, designs and builds the tabernacle. What's the point? Before Moses was entrusted with corporate national glory, he had to be entrusted with personal presence.

And I remember driving, I remember one time we went to get a burger downtown. Jesse was on the phone. She's good at that. And I pulled over downtown, and I don't like downtown. I don't like cities. I don't like parallel parking.

And I like to be out in open space. Just breathe a little. And there was a guy in a wheelchair, and we were on the way home. And I heard the voice of the Holy Spirit. He said, pull over, pray for him.

So I did. I pulled the car over. And Jesse was on the phone, and she got off the phone. She goes, where are you going? I said, I'll be right back. I jumped out of the car. I walked up to the man. I said, what happened?

He said, I haven't been able to walk in years. I said, may I pray for you? He said, I cannot believe you just walked up to me. I'm a backslidden, rejected, alcoholic, former Southern Baptist pastor. And there he is living on the street in downtown Orlando in a wheelchair.

And I said, do you know the Bible says that God can heal you and wants to heal you? He said, I think he does. And so I prayed for him. He got out of the wheelchair. I took the wheelchair. He walked. He started screaming.

He said, I haven't been able to do this in two years. I thanked him. I didn't know what to do after. I gave him a hug and walked back to the car. When we got in the car, we drove by. Now, the last thing Jesse saw was the man in the wheelchair going down the sidewalk.

When we drove by the second time, she looked out the same window, and she was still on the phone, but the guy was walking. I'll never forget her face. She goes, wait, wait, what? Hold on. Put the phone down.

He's walking now. I said, yeah, what do you think I've been doing? Why have you been on the phone? Obeying the Lord. The Holy Spirit, listen carefully, is looking for people to trust with the slightest whisper.

And when you obey the slightest whisper, you're signing up without knowing for a lifetime of relationship. Now, if you want to be used of the Spirit, something comes upon you in His presence. Listen carefully.

The Holy Spirit Is Lord, Not a Force to Be Controlled

The fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord. The scripture says, now the Lord is that Spirit. For too long, the church has believed that they can use the Spirit. In fact, one of the criticisms towards charismatic camps, in some cases rightfully so, in others, they're incorrect criticisms.

But it's that charismatics just wield the Holy Spirit and do whatever they want. That's certainly not been my experience. I'm not saying some don't believe that. I would say probably some I've been around do, and I absolutely disagree with it.

It's to think that you can tell Him what to do is laughable. And that would also say that it is improper. And it is dangerous in His eyes to assume that we know what He wants to do while He's using someone else.

It's a dangerous thing. It's not healthy. If the Holy Ghost is God, and He is, do you realize the sense you feel in the air is the presence? It's the result of the presence of God Himself, God. He's not limited to a dove or a fire on an altar.

We're talking about God. Are you hearing me? The Holy Spirit is as much God as the Son is and as much God as the Father is. He is so much the Lord, please hear me, that Jesus chose to be led by Him. Now, the fact that Jesus followed Him into the wilderness, the Bible says He was led by the Spirit.

In other words, the Spirit led Him is proof of His deity. And one of the greatest things you can learn if you're hungry, if you really want to become His friend, is off the bat, understand He is the Lord.

It's interesting to me when people come here, they always go, one of the markers, it's funny, because it's just us being us. But when other environments come or other movements send their students, they always leave going, they're very reverent there.

Now, if you came out of a traditional background, you probably think we're crazy, okay? Now, if you didn't, if you're a river child, if you don't know what I'm saying, you just don't know. But you can ask Candice, there she is, and Aaron, they're river kids.

They make us look like the frozen chosen. But that's not the point. What are they picking up on regarding reverence? Is an understanding on this platform that He is the Lord. He's the Lord. How many of you want a greater glory personally and corporately?

I do. I don't know about you. But there's some mountains I need to see move. And without Him taking the field, they're probably not going to move. But you have to understand that with a greater glory comes a greater standard.

Bob Gladstone said, and during the Pensacola revival, that the glory of God is much like nuclear power. When experienced properly, it brings light and power and blesses a city. But you cross the line with it and all of a sudden it can take you out.

And this is the scriptural pattern. We see this with Peter and Ananias and Sapphira. They lie to him. They hold money back. And Peter's answer is incredible. I want you to understand this. Well, I guess this is to scare you.

I was going to say this isn't meant to scare you. But I think we all need to be a little afraid of the Lord. In fact, a lot of afraid. Not to run from Him, of course. But be so afraid of our natural ability that we run to the Lord and hold on.

And realize that without Him, we have no life. We have no purity. We have no holiness. It's all in Jesus. But Ananias and Sapphira speaks to Peter in God's presence. And right before they die, Peter says, you have not lied to men, but to God.

Was Peter saying he was the Lord? No. What he was saying is, in this atmosphere, the Lord is here. And he hears every word. I think if I could leave you with anything tonight regarding a life in the Spirit, it would be to understand this foundational necessity that He is the Lord.

And it's why we don't play with Him. It's why we walk tenderly in His presence, step by step, precept upon precept, with each step having no clue what we're doing, which is part of His plan. This is the invitation into a surrendered life.

It's losing the clue, understanding that He is the wind of heaven. That He carries us and that He blows in the direction He wants, with the speed He wants to blow, toward who He wants to blow upon. God might touch someone tonight you don't think should be touched.

God may touch somebody in your life that you think is less hungry than you. But I want to say something. The Lord, the Lord keeps the books. And He keeps very organized books. Whenever I feel like I'm wronged, misunderstood, lied about, in my heart, I hear the Word of God.

He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, as a sheep before his shearers, as silent. And I hear my father-in-law's advice to me when I was a young man. God keeps the books, Mikey. God keeps the books. And He keeps very good books.

Do you realize one day those books are going to open? Are you hearing me tonight? Those books are going to open. And before all of heaven, the innocent will be found innocent. The deceitful will be found deceitful.

Those who look the part but are not the part will be revealed as chaff. And those who are truly His will be revealed as wheat. This is something very glorious. But if you want to walk in the Spirit, two things I want you to grab tonight.

Fearing God and Walking in Joy

Number one, He is the Lord. He calls the shots. He calls the shots. We don't chuck Him out of our hand like Avengers, like these superheroes and mess with His power. No, we don't do that. It's grievous.

Number two, number two, understand this about Him. To properly walk with Him is to fear Him. And it doesn't mean you're going to be sad. In fact, you're going to be filled with more joy. Because Jesus feared God and He was anointed above His fellows.

He hated iniquity. And He was anointed with the oil of gladness even above His fellows. So you can walk in amazing joy and know Him and fear Him. May I have my iPad? Where is it? I want to read this to you.

Then I'm going to pray with you, see what the Lord does. I'm going to read this through this verse in Revelation. Revelation 5, 9, and 10. You can write that down. And they sang a new song, saying, worthy are you to take the book and to break its seals.

The Blood Purchases a Kingdom of Priests

For you were slain and purchased for God with your blood, men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God. And they will reign upon the earth.

Number one, you need to know this tonight about the work of the blood. That's available for you tonight. Number one, the blood purchases us. Aren't you glad you don't own you? Is anybody here glad they do not own themselves tonight?

I don't know about you, but I don't want to own me. I would be a very difficult project. I have no interest in owning me. I would wear myself out. And I've done it many times. Number two, we are a kingdom.

We are a kingdom. God has purchased us as a kingdom. We are his people. We are those in whom the king dwells and in those whom the king surrounds and protects and those whom the king governs. Number three, we are priests.

The blood has made us priests. Why is that important? Because on a night like tonight, I'm sure many of you are facing so much, but you can lift your song. Listen, and when you lift your song, why don't you just close your eyes right now?

Close your eyes, just begin worshiping the Lord. I'm going to talk to you. Just begin to bless him. When you lift your song, you touch his heart. And when you touch his heart, he begins to move. And when you touch his heart, he begins to speak.

And when you minister to the Lord, all that can be shaken is shaken. Until only he remains.