THE GREATEST POWER OF REDEMPTION

Do you know the power of redemption? Has this thought ever occurred to you? The genealogy of Jesus proves to us the redemptive power of God. In His lineage, we see people with very questionable pasts, and yet God used them. Consequently, you should never feel like your sins are great that you can’t experience redemption. Your past should never disqualify you. God desires to transform you, turn around your mistakes, and make you new. There is power in redemption. Let us look at Jesus’ genealogy to help us understand the power of redemption.

• • Examples of the redemption story in Jesus’ genealogy.
  • Judah and Tamar
• Judah and Tamar
• Continuation
  • It gets even more interesting..
• Rahab
• Boaz and Ruth
• David and Bathsheba
  • How to position yourself for redemption
  • Repentance gets you closer to experiencing the power of redemption.
  • Ask for guidance from the Holy Spirit and Read the Bible
  • Get rid of the shame and guilt
• Conclusion

Examples of the redemption story in Jesus’ genealogy.

Judah and Tamar

Their story is messy and it is full of deception on both ends, yet through that mistake came Perez who is part of the lineage of Jesus. Perez being a part of the lineage of Jesus is an example of the power of redemption.

Judah and Tamar

 At that time, Judah left his brothers and went down to stay with a man of Adullam named Hirah. ² There Judah met the daughter of a Canaanite man named Shua. He married her and made love to her; ³ she became pregnant and gave birth to a son, who was named Er. ⁴ She conceived again and gave birth to a son and named him Onan. ⁵ She gave birth to still another son and named him Shelah. It was at Kezib that she gave birth to him. ⁶ Judah got a wife for Er, his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. ⁷ But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the Lord’s sight; so the Lord put him to death.

⁸ Then Judah said to Onan, “Sleep with your brother’s wife and fulfill your duty to her as a brother-in-law to raise up offspring for your brother.” ⁹ But Onan knew that the child would not be his; so whenever he slept with his brother’s wife, he spilled his semen on the ground to keep from providing offspring for his brother. ¹⁰ What he did was wicked in the Lord’s sight; so the Lord put him to death also.

¹¹ Judah then said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Live as a widow in your father’s household until my son Shelah grows up.” For he thought, “He may die too, just like his brothers.” So Tamar went to live in her father’s household. ¹² After a long time Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shua, died. When Judah had recovered from his grief, he went up to Timnah, to the men who were shearing his sheep, and his friend Hirah the Adullamite went with him.

Continuation

¹³ When Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is on his way to Timnah to shear his sheep,” ¹⁴ she took off her widow’s clothes, covered herself with a veil to disguise herself, and then sat down at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. For she saw that, though Shelah had now grown up, she had not been given to him as his wife. ¹⁵ When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face. ¹⁶ Not realizing that she was his daughter-in-law, he went over to her by the roadside and said, “Come now, let me sleep with you.” “And what will you give me to sleep with you?” she asked.

¹⁷ “I’ll send you a young goat from my flock,” he said. “Will you give me something as a pledge until you send it?” she asked. ¹⁸ He said, “What pledge should I give you?” “Your seal and its cord, and the staff in your hand,” she answered. So he gave them to her and slept with her, and she became pregnant by him. ¹⁹ After she left, she took off her veil and put on her widow’s clothes again. ²⁰ Meanwhile Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite in order to get his pledge back from the woman, but he did not find her. ²¹ He asked the men who lived there, “Where is the shrine prostitute who was beside the road at Enaim?”

It gets even more interesting..

“There hasn’t been any shrine prostitute here,” they said. ²² So he went back to Judah and said, “I didn’t find her. Besides, the men who lived there said, ‘There hasn’t been any shrine prostitute here.’” ²³ Then Judah said, “Let her keep what she has, or we will become a laughingstock. After all, I did send her this young goat, but you didn’t find her.” ²⁴ About three months later Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar is guilty of prostitution, and as a result, she is now pregnant.” Judah said, “Bring her out and have her burned to death!” ²⁵ As she was being brought out, she sent a message to her father-in-law. “I am pregnant by the man who owns these,” she said. And she added, “See if you recognize whose seal and cord and staff these are.”

²⁶ Judah recognized them and said, “She is more righteous than I since I wouldn’t give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not sleep with her again.

²⁷ When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. ²⁸ As she was giving birth, one of them put out his hand; so the midwife took a scarlet thread and tied it on his wrist, and said, “This one came out first.” ²⁹ But when he drew back his hand, his brother came out, and she said, “So this is how you have broken out!” And he was named Perez. ³⁰ Then his brother, who had the scarlet thread on his wrist, came out. And he was named Zerah.

Rahab

She was a prostitute who through her good deeds of saving the spies was adopted into the Jewish family. She begot Boaz, whose name literally means Redeemer. Anyway, can you imagine that the lineage of our Messiah includes a woman who was formerly a prostitute? What kind of past do you have? Today I want you to know that God wants to turn it around. He does not want you to identify yourself with your past mistakes. He wants to redeem you and give you a clean slate. God giving you a clean slate and a new beginning is another example of the power of redemption.

Jesus coming from such a messy lineage was a way for God to show us what redemption looks like. He wanted us to know that He works with imperfect people. God is not looking for those who have their acts together. He is looking for those who are willing have Him use them. Are you one of them? (Rahab’s story begins in Joshua chapter 2) http://bible.us/1/jos6.25.esv

Boaz and Ruth

Boaz was the son of a prostitute, and Ruth was a widow and a Moabite. Ruth’s past did not make her a likely candidate to be in Jesus’ lineage. But God used her anyway. The story of Ruth is one of restoration, hope and redemption. Do you feel like you have lost so much over the years? Jesus wants you to know that He can restore. Ruth lost her husband and also her home. But because she willingly served her mother-in-law and would not abandon her at her lowest,

God restored everything she had lost and more. In the end Boaz married Ruth and they had a son. How cool is that? God gave her the home and marriage she had lost. God wants to restore all that you have lost. He did it for Ruth and He wants to do it for you too. I hope this story helps you understand the power of redemption. Check out this blog to learn more.

David and Bathsheba

David’s act of murder and adultery was terrible. He committed adultery with Bathsheba- Uriah’s wife and then killed him. Yet once he repented, God forgave him. And through their union with Bathsheba, Solomon, known as the wisest person to have ever lived, was begotten. Solomon became king after his father, David. Again, this is what redemption looks like. God takes your and my mistake and creates a beautiful masterpiece out of it. To learn more about this story, check out my blog post on the mercy of God.

Through these examples, we see God using people with questionable pasts. Do you feel you have wandered away to the point of no return? Friend, God wants to use your broken past to create a beautiful story from it. Do not allow a chapter in your life to keep you from experiencing the joy and fullness of your future. God always has a plan for redemption.

The birth of Jesus is proof enough of how God is always looking for redemption plans for you and me. He even sent His own Son to redeem us from sin. When Adam and Eve sinned, we as human beings lost the most important relationship. And that is a relationship with God. Jesus’ coming was to restore the relationship by bringing us back to God.

How to position yourself for redemption

Repentance gets you closer to experiencing the power of redemption.

The story of the prodigal son is a good example of the power of redemption. Although the son had squandered all his inheritance, the father did not care. His focus was on the fact that his lost son had come back. The father gave his son his signet ring and a robe and called for a party to celebrate his son’s return. God does not care about how far you have wandered. His concern is for you to come back and allow him to forgive and redeem you. He is beckoning. Will you heed His call? Don’t wait for a second longer. With arms stretched wide God wants to welcome you back to His kingdom. That is how much He loves you.

Ask for guidance from the Holy Spirit and Read the Bible

Jesus sent the Holy Spirit here on earth to help you and me. When you struggle, just allow the prompting of the Holy Spirit to help you. There is always that inner voice that tells you when you are in the wrong and that is the Holy Spirit. When you lean in and listen to Him, you will always be on the right track. Allow the Holy Spirit to be your friend. You can trust Him to not put you in harm’s way.

The Holy Spirit wants to help you experience the power of redemption. He wants to see you step into the fullness of who God created you to be. He wants to reconcile you with God and reveal Jesus and The Father to you. The question I have for you is, are you ready? Beloved, Jesus did not leave us as orphans and He did not want us to fend for ourselves. That is why He sent the Holy Spirit to help us in our Christian walk. The Holy Spirit will convict you when you go astray. And when you let Him, He will show you how to get back on track. And again He will remind you who you are when you forget.

They wrote the Bible to guide you in your Christian journey. As you delve into the word, you will know right from wrong. And when you couple that with the guidance of the Holy Spirit you will be fine. The Bible contains the instructions that you and me need to help us navigate the Christian walk and remain in the right standing with God. That is why it is important to spend time in the word of God.

Get rid of the shame and guilt

Once you have repented, the enemy will try to intimidate you by using shame and guilt as a weapon. These two will make you feel unworthy and get you stuck in the past. Whenever you repent, Jesus wipes the slate clean. He already paid the price and cleared the debt, thus there is no handwriting of requirement. You should not stay stuck in shame and guilt. Once you have repented, forgiveness is your. And Jesus remembers the sin no more. God will never condemn you. The power of redemption is erasing the past, making you a new creation and setting you free from the shame of your past. There is no guilt, shame, and condemnation in redemption.

Every time the enemy tries to remind you of your past mistakes, remind him of his future. In fact, remind him of your redemption. And how you have received freedom in Christ. http://bible.us/1/col2.14.esv

God wants you to come to Him. just as you are. God loves you so much. And there is nothing you can do to make Him love you any less. You are His creation, His child, and He is deeply in love with you. Run to the Father. Do not wait any longer. Therefore, Jesus came to earth. To redeem you and me and make us a new creation. When Jesus died on the cross, He set us free from the curse of death and translated us into the kingdom of heaven.

Conclusion

Redemption is something that God wants you to experience. God is not looking for you to get your act together. He wants to help you in your transformation journey. Just like the woman at the well, Jesus wants to set you free from your past and give you a new name. He wants to introduce you to your destiny. The woman at the well went from being insecure to being an evangelist. Through her story, other people came to the knowledge of Christ. This is why redemption is important. Through your redemption, other people will experience their redemption. There is power in redemption. What are you waiting for today? Step in and experience the redemptive power of God.