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Praying by the blood of Jesus
Topic: #1 of 69 for Sermons on Prayer: In the Spirit Scripture: Revelation 12:11 Denomination: Pentecostal Date Added: June 2006, Audience: General Adults (31 – 49)
Revelation 12:11:
“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and
they
loved not their lives unto the death”.
I would like you to read this message with rapt attention, so that you can key in to what Godintends to do through this miracle power. It is a deep topic, and this is just a scratch on it.The verse above is a very interesting part of the Bible; it gives us weapons and it would be good,if you could memorize it and appropriate it to yourself. There is a weapon that has never lost its power, but people have not learnt to use it; whereas, it is highly effective. Even the enemy isafraid, when you start to talk about it. That old serpent, the dragon, that the Bible talks about,
saying: “Woe unto the earth and the sea …” There is a weapon that can overcome it. There is
nothing that God created, that He cannot rearrange; there is no enemy that God cannot defeat.
A two-year old girl learnt
this song and was always singing it:
“There is power, there is power, there is power in the Blood of Jesus.”
Her mother noticed that she never took ill. One day, the mother washed the
girl‟s clothes and
hung them outside. There was a high wind, which blew her small panty to the compound next totheirs and it landed in the sitting room of a neighbour, who was a herbalist. Immediately the pantlanded, there was pandemonium in the room; everything turned upside down. Everything heknew how to do failed; nothing could avail for him. He did his consultation and he found out thatthere was a strange thing in the room. He tried to pick it, but he fell. He started to rainincantations, offered sacrifice, poured libation but he could not make a headway. He could nottouch the pant, and everywhere was hot. Throughout that day, no customer came forconsultation; he battled throughout the night. The following day, the wind blew again and thistime, t
he girl saw her toy flying towards the man‟s sitting room. She followed it and then saw her pant. She went straight towards it and picked it, singing her song. “There is power in the Bloodof Jesus.” The herbalist tried to stop her, thinking the „strange‟
thing would harm her but shepicked her pant casually, from the centre of oil and blood poured around it. The girl picked it andleft, still singing. That incidence, converted the herbalist. He surrendered his life to Christ,having seen that His Power is the absolute Power. He left his beggarly powers and came to theLord.There is a power that supersedes every other power. That power, transforms simple things into powerful weapons. The awesomeness and mystery of the power in the Blood of Jesus, is not being preached in the church today. Many present day Christians do not know many things aboutvictory in the battles of life. Learning to claim the power in the Blood of Jesus, is very important.It is a prayer that brings deliverance and protection.PLEADING THE BLOOD OF JESUS:1.
Gives protection before adversity strikes
. It serves as prevention.2.
Gives physical healing in the body.
No matter what name is given to any problem, it will besolved, when the Blood of Jesus is brought in.If you keep pleading the Blood of Jesus, no matter how terrible an infirmity is, it will disappear by the power in the Blood of Jesus. If your life is pure and you lay your hands on any sickness, pleading the Blood of Jesus, it will vanish. You might wonder if it is really as simple as that butthat is the Power in the Blood of Jesus.The Power in pleading the Blood of Jesus is yet to be understood by Man. Some people criticisethose pleading the Blood of Jesus. It is because they have not passed through the valley, so theycannot know what it means. Someone who has never been tortured by a terminal disease cannotknow what it means to be threatened by death, so he or she cannot understand why a cancer patient is praying fervently for healing, or why the person is jubilating after he or she has beenmiraculously healed. The preachers, who discourage people from praying fire prayers or pleading the Blood of Jesus, do so, because they have not experienced such things.The Blood of Jesus cannot dry up; neither can it lose its power. Therefore you can plead it amillion times, if you want to. The more you plead the Blood of Jesus, the more the chance oftotally submerging the disease, in the pool of the Blood of Jesus.Many Christians do not understand the power in the use of the weapons that God has given us
against the enemy.Unbelievers could sit throughout the night, chanting incantations or reciting things against people.3.
Gives emotional healing.
4.
Gives mental healing.
5.
Helps in battling dark powers.
6.
Helps in battling the adversary.
7.
Gives financial healing
If you stand in front of your shop or house and plead the Blood of Jesus every day, you will findout that the powers of darkness in that environment will dissipate.As we are moving towards the End Times, we need to plead the Blood of Jesus, all the time.There is a lot of tragedy and disaster all over the place. Too many Christians are being robed orcheated or raped or murdered. Many are being hypnotised and confused. Pleading the Blood ofJesus, will give you immunity against these things.8.
Cleanses from all sins
. Jesus came to die for the sins of the world and His Blood was shed forus. You can claim the cleansing power in His Blood and God will open a new chapter in yourlife.You can plead the Blood of Jesus, over any and everything; your spirit, soul and body, yourhouse, car, work, children, spouse, business, as a form of protection or prevention against evil.You can plead the Blood of Jesus over your journey, the road, the vehicle or aircraft, etc. If youare living or passing through a dangerous zone; you can draw a bloodline of protection, thereforemaking a boundary, against any evil.A man had a poultry where, all of sudden, the chickens began to die. When he saw that he wasgoing bankrupt with the loss, he cried unto the Lord, who ministered to him about drawing a bloodline around the poultry. Thus, creating a boundary that the enemy cannot cross. He walkedround and drew the bloodline around the poultry that night. The following day, he found thecarcass of a wolf, about two feet into the circle that he drew. It was stone dead; it had passed its bounds. Today, I pray that any wolf assigned against your life, shall die in the Name of Jesus.Draw the Bloodline and the enemy will keep off. These are very serious matters and we shouldrecognise and know these secrets.
Recently, there have been disasters that have destroyed many lives in many countries. I was toldof a man, who saw the flood raging towards his house and he came out and pleaded the Blood ofJesus. The flood obeyed him, not a single drop of water entered his house but the houses next tohim, were submerged. That is the power in the Blood of Jesus!The Blood of Jesus is a battle-weapon; through it, you can achieve the following:1.
Cleansing
The Blood of Jesus possesses cleansing power. If there is any form of dirt of filth in your life orenvironment, the Blood of Jesus will cleanse them.2.
Sanitisation
The Blood of Jesus could serve as disinfectant. Any thing that wants to pollute, will not be ableto get in. You should sanitise your life, your body, house, shop, etc. In fact, before you move intoa new apartment or house, you should sanitise it and the surroundings, with the Blood of Jesus.The foundations of many houses, were laid with sacrifices of all kinds. Houses that were builtthirty of forty years ago, have things buried in them, by the owners and such things worknegatively on the inhabitants of such houses, especially if they are not born again.3.
Deliverance:
When you call the Blood of Jesus into operation, it causes the enemy to flee, because it containsthe life of God. It sets people free from bondage.4.
Healing:
It can heal all forms of infirmity. When you plead the Blood of Jesus, things begin tohappen.5.
Protection.
6.
Life-giving power:
to revive anyone or anything that is dead. It could be marriage, finances, business, etc.7.
Yoke-breaking:
Whenever you plead the Blood of Jesus, people and things are set free fromany kind of yoke.8.
Overcoming power.
9.
Door-opening power to
open every door that has been closed against good things in the life ofa person.10.
Creative and re-creative power.
Anything that is supposed to be in the life or body of a person, or has been removed through surgery or witchcraft, can be recalled back into existence by the Blood of Jesus.
11.
Renewing power.
12.
Battle dissolving power that
makes the enemies go in disarray.13.
Promotion power and energy.
14.
Breakthrough power.
15.
Miracle receiving power
16.
Poison destroying power.
Many have been poisoned physically or spiritually. The Blood ofJesus neutralizes such poisons and flushes them out of the system.17.
Mountain-moving power
18.
Demon-paralysing power.
The ring-
tone on one of my phones is the song: “Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing Blood,are you washed in the Blood of the Lamb.” One day, I was sitting somewhere and the phone
rang; before I coule Blood of Jesus into any situation, it will eventually bow. Many people donot understand the overcoming weapons that they have in the word of God. The Bible says:
“And they overcame him by the Blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony.”
Today, you will watch that Blood in display, if you will pray the prayers I am suggesting below,from your heart. That Blood was not shed in vain; it was shed for forgiveness, deliverances, protection, etc. You would be cheating yourself, if you do not use that facility.
A 26 year old sister,
who was looking like an old woman, heard a message like this and decidedto use it. She locked herself up for three days, pleading the Blood of Jesus into her situation. Bythe time she came out, her correct body, shape, face, had been restored to her. She now lookedher age.If you want your right things to come back to you, pray with power and with fire. The power inthe Blood of Jesus was given to it from the beginning. Do you know that there is power and lifein blood generally? If a person lacks blood, it means he or she is dying. That is why some things
work for occultists, who kill goats and fowls for sacrifice. How much more, the Blood of the Sonof God?
There was a King in the Bible
, who saw that he was losing a battle; he quickly sacrificed his firstson. As he was shedding that blood, Israel that was attacking them, got confused. If the blood ofanimals and human beings could make an impact, how much more, the Blood of Jesus, the Sonof God?Blood is a living thing and the Blood of Jesus, has the power to overcome anything thatconfronts you. However, there is a small condition. For you to plead the Blood of Jesus and haveit work for you:
• You must surrender your life to the Lord Jesus. You must be completely yielded to Him.
• You must live a pure and holy life.
You have a wonderful opportunity today, to invite the overcoming power in the Blood of Jesus,to come into your situation.If you are not born again and you would like to surrender your life to Christ, you can do so rightnow, right there where you are. All you need do is see yourself as a sinner and know that youcannot approach God in your sinful state. Repent of your sins; confess them to the Lord and askHim to forgive you. Name them one by one, renounce them and decide that you will not go backto them anymore.I congratulate you for this decision that you have just taken; it is the most important decision inlife, and I pray that it shall be permanent in your life, in the Name of Jesus. I pray that the Lordwill uphold you with His hand or righteousness and you will not fall or fail in the Name of Jesus.I pray that the Lord will write your name in the Book of Life and nothing shall by any means,rub it off in the Name of Jesus. Go and sin no more!It will be a pity, if after reading this message; the Blood of Jesus does not avail for you. Checkyourself very well; is there anything in your life that could hinder the move or the power of Godin your situation? Have you done or said something that you should not? Are you relating with people that you should not? Check yourself. Are there some things that the Holy Spirit has beentelling you are bad, and you do not want to listen?Today, as you plead the Blood of Jesus, His liquid raw power, will come upon your life andstrange and marvelous things will begin to take place in your life. God will release all sorts of blessings upon your life today; physical, spiritual, material blessings, marital and financial breakthroughs, will be release upon your life as you plead the Blood of Jesus into your situation.Some people will pray the following prayers, and will never know poverty again. Many will be
healed from even terminal diseases, and they will have testimonies.Confess all sins, known and unknown, conscious and unconscious, parental, inherited, martialsins. God has all powers in His Hands and is ready to move, even right there, where you are.Believe God for the move of His power in your life.
Prayer points1. Blood of Jesus deliver me by fire in the Name of Jesus.2. I command all my blessings confiscated by rulers of darkness to be released, in the Name of Jesus.3. I cut myself off from every territorial spirit, in the Name of Jesus.4. I command all demonic reverse gears installed to hinder my progress to be roasted, in the Name of Jesus.5. Lord Jesus, bear all my physical and spiritual burdens now, in the Name of Jesus.6. Every power stealing my virtues die, in the Name of Jesus.7. Every power in the heavenlies, on earth and in the seas hindering the angel of my blessings,die, in the Name of Jesus.8. Any power diverting the blessings of God away from me, your time is up, die now, in the Nameof Jesus.9. By the Blood of Jesus, every owner of evil load, carry your load in the Name of Jesus.10. Blood of Jesus, pursue my pursuers in the Name of Jesus.11. Blood of Jesus, arise and fight my battles, in the Name of Jesus.12. Blood of Jesus, pursue poverty out of my life, in the Name of Jesus.13. Every power assigned to follow me, to destroy me, die in the Name of Jesus.
FIRE OR FUNERAL
Topic: #3 of 69 for Sermons on Prayer: In the Spirit Scripture: Luke 3:16 Denomination: Pentecostal, Date Added: January 2004Audience: General Adults (31 – 49)
Luke 3:16: “John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water (he did not
deceive them), but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy tounl
oose; he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire.”
In this scripture, we see three baptisms:1. By water,2. By the Holy Ghost and,3. By Fire.According to the Bible, there were daily sacrifices. And during some of these sacrifices, firecame down. Sometimes the priests at the altar were confused too. Believers have to search forand gather sufficient fire of God into their spirit man to cope with the amount of wickedness thatis going on now. The spiritual environment has changed completely from what it used to be.
Now some people may confront you and say, “Look, I have met the devil. Whom have youmet?” If a man should confront you and say that he has met the devil, and you have not met the
living God, you better beware. I am not talking about going to church. The matter is beyond that.
Many people go to church, but the church does not go inside of them. “I am a deaconess. I am a pastor.” But what they really need is to be generators of God‟s power so that when the powers of
darkness confr
ont them and say, “We are coming from the devil,” they will tell them, “We arefrom the living God.” What I am saying is that for the lower forces to bow before you, something
has to happen inside of you.Beloved, the amount of power that many of us carry about now is not enough to resist the powersof darkness around us. There is so much darkness around now. Men and women are going intodark places. The kind of Christians that confront them are not disco Christians. Often we pray,
“Anointing fall. Power and fire fall.” But how many of us are receiving the anointing and thefire. We have all the choruses well lined out: “Holy Ghost and fire, God of Elijah send down thefire.” But how many of us really have the fire.
A dangerous trend is happening now and if believers of this generation do not receive fire, thealternative is funeral. The enemy has gone very far in many lives. While many of us are still in primary one the enemy has entered the university. In Africa, a native doctor does not call ademon he does not understand, because he knows that to do so it can cause a serious problem forhim. I know somebody who landed in a psychiatric hospital, after reading the 6th and 7th Booksof Moses. He called the spirit that he did not understand and the spirit dealt with him terribly.The native doctor is sensible. He knows that if you do not understand something, you should notcall it. If you call it and it comes out, you are in trouble.Many Christians do not understand that they need some conditions to bring
God‟s fire down.
We need that fire. It is compulsory and necessary. But many of us do not want to fulfill thecondition. The Bible says that whenever the apostles moved they carried fire with them. Theywere given serious stripes of cane. The Bible says that whenever they were given serious beating, they rejoiced. Something was in them that many of us do not have. These men got to a
level in their Christian life that people looked at them and said, “These are unlettered men.” Yet
they wondered at their boldness and accused them of turning the world upside down. Whereverthey went, there were some concerns because they caused holy trouble and tension.Beloved, when the fire comes upon you, some people will be concerned that you are somewhere.Some people will be worried that you have arrived. Some people will know that you have cometo create problem for them. As a Christian, people should know you for who you are. Theyshould know the kind of invitation they would give you. They should know the kind of food theywould not serve you. They know where to run to when they have trouble.Everywhere you go, you have to be a fire generator. What is your own testimony? Five or tenyears in Christianity, are you still looking for prophets or prophetesses to pray for you? What isyour testimony? The God that is speaking to those prophets, why is He not talking to you? Whathave you done wrong? Why has God abandoned you and the issue of your life and you now runafter prophets? What has happened to the prophet God has planted within you? We need thatfire. Without it there would be funeral. I am warning you now. The way things are going now,Christians who do not get on fire, their enemy will quickly kill them before their time and theywill not know. The enemy can start with a little boil and you will not know what to do and that isit. I want you to understand these things.
WHAT IS FIRE?Fire is a rapid, persistent, chemical reaction that releases heat and light. It signifies intensity,inspiration, enthusiasm, violence and power. And that is why most of the time in the Bible, wesee fire as an indication of the presence of God. Fire from heaven destroyed Sodom andGomorrah, (Genesis chapter 19). A pillar of fire guided the Israelites on their journey, (Exoduschapter 13). Fire came down and consumed the sacrifices of Solomon. (2 Chronicles chapter 7).Elijah called fire to consume his sacrifice. (I Kings chapter 18). The same Elijah called fire todestroy his own enemy, (2 Kings chapter 1). The same Elijah was carried to heaven by awhirlwind and a chariot of fire. (2 Kings chapter 2). The same fire of God was the fire that Heused to make His ministers. The Bible says that He made his ministers a flame of fire (Psalms104:4). The same fire is what the Bible calls refining fire (Malachi chapter 3). The same fire iscalled consuming fire (Hebrew chapter 12). The same fire is called Pentecostal fire in Acts of the
Apostle‟s chapter 2. We need to get on that fir
e. We need to understand what we are doing. Weneed to know that to challenge the wickedness of this present generation, more is needed thandancing and singing. More is needed than semantic and English grammar. It is good to be able tospeak English but t
hat is not the condition for God‟s power. It is good to go to a Bible college but that is not the condition for God‟s power. We need to go back to the traditional, old
fashioned revival meetings. We need to go back to the hard core revival of the past.Our fore-fathers who planted the seed of Christianity in this country accepted the gospel in the
spirit of “come
-what-
may, I am there, I am not turning back.” Unfortunately, instead of the old
–fashioned, fire meetings they used to have in those days, we now have modern kind of meetings,which are harmless, without fire and without revival. These meetings are not producing the kindof Christians needed now. If you attended the meetings of those days you received unforgettablechallenges. You would hear the kinds of things that would challenge your destiny and your life.
When they said, “Let us have a short prayer,” their idea of short prayer could be two hours. You
received unforgettable challenges. You received a stirring in your heart and if you were a sinneryou either decided to get saved or got out of their meetings. Members did not fight when theyclosed their service. People went home and dug deeper into their Bibles. You could see angels
rejoicing at their meetings. The Holy Spirit was moving unhindered, and the devil‟s programme
for everybody was put in reverse.This means that those early Christians had fire in their bones. Unfortunately, what we have in our
bones now is ice-cream, not fire. Those people did not need Sunday-Sunday medicine to keepthem going. They were not interested in spiritual diplomacy or politics.If you want to experience the genuine fire of God in your life, you need to listen to certain hardtruths. Which will help you to know whether you are serious or not, whether you want a fire ornot. When sin, worldly pleasures and carelessness are still in your spirit, when hypocrisy, lying,gossiping, lust and laziness are still there, you cannot hope to receive that fire. When you are stillreading dirty books and speaking dirty words, you cannot receive the kind of fire we are talkingabout.The Bible makes us to understand, that for you to receive this fire you need to be totally filledwith the Holy Ghost. When you are still reading dirty books and speaking dirty words, you
cannot receive the kind of fire we are talking about Holy Spirit. Ephesians 5:18: “And be notdrunk with wine wherein is excess: but be filled with the Spirit.” So the Bible says, “Don‟t be
drunk w
ith wine. Be drunk with the Holy Spirit.” God‟s wine is the Holy Spirit. We need to
become holy drunks. When the apostles were drunk with the Holy Spirit, the people looking at
them could not understand what was going on. They said, “These men are filled with new wine.”But the apostles said, “No, we are not drunk. We cannot be drunk at this hour. It is just the third
hour of the day, in the morning. The bars are not opened yet. We are not drunk. This is thatwhich was written by Joel the prophet that, at the last days, I will pour out my Spirit upon allflesh, your sons and your daughters shall prophesy. The young men and women shall see visions.The old men shall dream dreams. Even on your maids and your servants I will also pour out mySpirit and they shall prophesy. All these are for you if you are ready for them.”
God‟s wine is the Holy Spirit. We can be so filled with the Holy Spirit that we would have no
space for nonsense. The people of Ephesus that Paul wrote this book to had already received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. In Acts 19, Paul was telling them that they were now filled with theHoly Spirit. You have to become a holy drunk so that the Spirit of God will fill you to the brim.If you read the Acts of the Apostles very well, you would see that anytime a miracle orsomething was about to happen, Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit or Paul was filled with theHoly Spirit and then things would begin to happen. The reason many of us are not filled with theHoly Spirit is that we have locked the door against it. Beloved, unless we want to deceiveourselves something is basically wrong with present day Christians. Somebody prays fire prayers
then he drinks „agbo‟ (concoctions) and takes
injections. Something is wrong somewhere. Many
are afraid of things that are running away from them. When they say witches and wizards, someChristians are so worried, when you say money, some Christians are ready to die for it. Manycome to our church but there is no change in their life styles. When you see them somewhereelse they do not look as Christians. They look like Jezebel. When you look closely at present-dayChristians, you will notice that something is missing. They are not like the apostles of old at all.
Let‟s not deceive ourselves. Look at Stephen in the Bible, he was appointed an usher yet he was
working signs and wonders; how much more the apostles in the upper-room.
Many of our members would say, “Come to our church, our General Overseer
will pray for you
and your problems will disappear.” But what about you? What is stopping you from giving that
person a spiritual first-aid before inviting him to the church? Many of us will arrive at the gate ofheaven and see a query waiting for them. An
d they will say, “What have I done Lord?” God willsay, you allowed 200 people to perish. Why?” Shyness, negligence, and fear.
Once I was inside an aircraft, and there also was a lady from MFM London sitting beside one
man. All of a sudden the man‟s eyes
begun to turn and he was having heart attack and vomiting
on the lap of the lady. They looked for a doctor and none was found. Then they said, “Any pastorhere?” And they located me. When I got there I saw this sister from MFM bowing down her
head by the
man and murmuring. I immediately tapped her and said, “My sister, this man isdying by your side and vomiting on your cloth, pray for him.” She said, G.O., I am prayingquietly.” I said, “Pray.” She said, “But that is why they brought you.” I shouted, “Pray!” Shenow stood up and started praying aloud. Mr. man, receive your healing.” She did not pray up tofive minutes when the man said, “I am all right now. Give me some water.” That was the end ofthe man‟s problem and I went back to my seat. I did not pra
y. The lady prayed.We need the fire. If you say that somebody is using powerless and fake power, show the original power so that people will follow your God. I want you to understand what I am saying. Youshould not say that you are coming to MFM and yo
u don‟t have fire. There was fire in the bones
of Jeremiah. There was so much fire in the bones of Elisha that after he was buried his bones
were able to raise the dead. What are you doing now? I want you to drink God‟s wine so that you
too can be a fire g
enerator. I can stand here day and night, open the Bible and say, “This is theGreek of this or the Hebrew of that” and you go home without understanding what I am saying.
In many churches in Nigeria today, you need to be a university graduate to understand theirsermon. There is no room in those churches for the pepper seller. No room for that kind of
women who saw me at Sabo market in Lagos and said, “G.O., is that you? You must take part ofthe fish that I am selling.” And she pursued me with fish. No ro
om for her. Make up your mind,
beloved, to be catapulted spiritually. You must drink God‟s wine.
CONDITIONS FOR DRINKING THE WINE OF GOD
Someone made a mistake. He came to Jesus and said, “Jesus, in Your kingdom let me sit at Your
right hand and my
brother at Your left hand.” Jesus said, “It is okay, but are you able to drinkfrom the cup that I want to drink?” He said, “Yes, I will drink.” That was James. He was the first
of all the apostles in the Bible whose head was cut off. So be sure of what you want to prayabout. The first thing you need do if you must drink the wine of God to excess and get it insideof you, is to receive character deliverance.What is your character? Your character is what you are in the dark, what is really inside of you.Once I went to greet one of my friends who was a medical doctor Youth Corper. I learnt a greatlesson that day. A senior apostle had a motor accident and they bound his wounds and broughthim to the doctor for treatment. They also brought another accident victim in the same vehicle.
When they pushed the injection needle into the apostle‟s buttock, he screamed, „Shopona o.”
Shopona is the god of smallpox. When they put the injection in the buttock of the other man, he
shouted, “Blood of Jesus.” You can see that although the first man was called an apostle, the real
thing inside him came out right there. Character is what you are in the dark. You cannot callanything else out of a rotten wood. It is not possible. If I put a cup on a pulpit, I put tea inside itand begin to bang the pulpit and the cup begins to vibrate, what is going to pour out of it is thetea. So, when somebody is agitated, what comes out of him is the real him. If you say, “I do not
usually get angry unless I am provoked,” it is because the tea inside the cup is anger. If you say,“I do not usually commit fornication, but I only deal with married women, and I believe I am notoffending anybody,” that is what is inside the cup. It
is your real character.What is your character? It is what is left behind after you have departed from a place. If they
sacked a person from a place of work and his absence brings restlessness there; if people say, “Iwish this person were still here,” he
has left a character behind. Two pastors left a particularstation. Everybody was smiling when the first one left. But many cried when the second one left.It was because of his character. Your character is like the foundation of a house which is belowthe surface. Your character is like a smoke; it will expose you and come out. Your character iswhat you will do if you know that nobody will find out. A lot of people would not steal if they
know that somebody will find out. But if they believe that nobody will find out, they will steal.In many cities abroad, unless there is a problem, you would not find policemen asking peoplewhere they are going or opening your boots. What they do ordinarily is to mount TV/cameras allover the streets. If you drive recklessly they would see you, if you commit any crime in thestreet, they would see you. You will hardly arrive at where you are going before they wouldarrest you. Because of the fear of this arrangement, many people do not commit crime. But ifthey get to the place where there is no camera, their real character will show. Your character isyour reaction when things do not go your way.Your character is what God knows that you are. It is what you stand for, your true nature, thekind of person you are. You must work on that your character. Anointing without character is
disaster. Some people will say, “How can a man of God do a thing
like this.” You are the person
calling him the man of God. You do not know what God is calling him. Character deliverance isneeded. It is the first thing. If you want to drink of the wine of God, your character must bedelivered.Secondly, if you want to drink the wine of God, you must observe regular spiritual retreat, a timealone with God. A good soldier does not fight all the time. Let us see the strategy of the Lord
Jesus in Matthew 14: 23: “And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a
mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was th
ere alone.” Jesus always
observed a retreat. You may be coming to work early and have your retreat before other staffsstart arriving. Or you may be staying to have it after the close of work. It should not be the kindof retreat some people say they are having in our church here. They just come here in themorning, locate a very good fan, open it to the fullest, lie down flat on the bench, mumble a fewwords as if they are praying and by the time you get there five minutes later, they are snoring.That is not a retreat. You are just sleeping inside the church.Many do not receive from God because they do not stay with God long enough to hear fromHim. You can stay in the presence of God for one hour, two hours or three hours. You can staythere for days. Y
ou cannot expect to spend ten minutes a day with the Lord and then say, “I wantto be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Spiritual retreat is a must. You may run to the mountain but if
you run to the mountain and the problem of the valley is still in your heart, and the demon of thevalley is still troubling you, you are just there on holiday.
If you want to drink the wine of God, you must have a regular spiritual retreat. It has been proven that when people get away from noise and distraction, God does a lot more in their lives.When people are pulled apart and leave their food and newspapers, things happen quicker. Youcan do a personal spiritual retreat and stay in the presence of the Lord.The third thing you need to be practicing if you want to be filled with the Spirit is the principle ofthe night-watch or night-praying. When I say night praying I do not mean vigil every night. WhatI mean is that you shake yourself loose from the spirit of slumber that is falling on so manyChristians now. Some prayers cannot work in the day. That is why Jesus said that we do notavenge the souls of the saints who cry to Him day and night. He will avenge them speedily.
Psalm 119 : 62: “At midnight, I will rise to give thanks unto thee because of thy righteous judgment.” We find the same idea in Luke 6: 12: “And it come to pass in those days, that hewent out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.” It was at midnight
that trouble began in the prison where Paul and Silas were locked up, when the earthquake ofdeliverance struck. Many Christians are meant to bring down earthquake of deliverance. Whenthe earthquake of deliverance comes others around you will be set free. Just as it happened toPaul and Silas.Beloved, if your life is controlled by the alarm clock, you need deliverance. If you cannot wakeup occasionally at night to pray, pray to God to give you the enabling grace. The night is the timeof terrible demonic activities. In the night, you can cancel any evil counsel that is taken againstyou. In fact, night prayer is a form of fasting. That is why there is power in all the prayer vigilthat we have. If you see anybody sleeping during a vigil, it is either that household wickednesshas concluded his agenda, or he is confused and sick. He does not understand what he is doing. Itis better to stay at home and not come to a vigil. Because as you are sleeping there and somebody
says, “I shake off every spiritual crocodile from my head,” and he shakes it off, the crocodilewould say, “Where shall I go?” And if it finds somebody on the bench snoring, it would jump on
him. At one Power Must Change Hands programme as an altar call was made, some peoplestarted running about and later we found that a strange lizard came out of somebody. The tail ofthe lizard was almost double the lizard. The power of God pushed it out. So, do not go to thattype of meeting and sleep.Key number four for those who want to be filled with the Holy Spirit is that they must learn howto flow in the Holy Spirit. How do you flow? You pray aggressively in tongues, sing melody to
the Lord and yield yourself to the Holy Spirit. Don‟t wait for them to sing two or three songs
before you begin to flow. Catch the fire and begin to flow immediately.
Key number five: You must follow the principle of meditation, Joshua I: 8: “Thou shalt meditatetherein day and night…” So, anybody that wants to become something for God must spend time
to meditate in the word of God. If you have no time to meditate on the Scriptures, you have notime to grow in your spiritual life. Meditation has power. We should meditate upon the word ofGod.Key number six is fasting. Fasting gives the human spirit an opportunity to build up. Prayerneeds fasting for development. It develops your faith and crucifies unbelief. That is why you findthat Daniel, Moses, Joshua, Elijah and Jesus fasted. Fasting brings power into your life. I knowof some modern faith preachers who now say no to fasting. But that is not what the Bible says.The Bible says that some people came to Jesus and reported that His disciples were eating and
drinking. Jesus said, “Do not worry. The bridegroom is with them now. They should not bother
to fast. But very soon, the bride
groom shall be taken away, and they will fast on that day.” They
seriously fasted when the time came. And we could see its effect in what they left behind. We arenot talking about closing the fasting at noon. That is not fasting. We are talking of days andnights of fasting. If you will drink the wine of the Lord, you should be in a position to confront
those that are coming from the enemy. You should declare: “I am coming from Calvary,therefore I destroy your power.” And they would say, “I am sorry, sir.”
And the last but not the least, we need complete obedience. If God says something to you, youmust comply instantly. If you begin to disobey the Lord, you will quench the power of the HolySpirit. You will not be able to move anymore. Look at all those people that have been murdered by ritual killers, may be you think there is no Christian amongst them. Jesus says that except yourepent, you will perish likewise. Therefore, we need to sit up, and God will help you as you doso, in the name of Jesus.PRAYER POINTS
1. Holy Ghost fire, kill every weakness in my life, in Jesus‟ name.
2. Fire of God in my life, awake, in Jesus‟
name.
3. Holy fire that cannot be insulted, fall upon my life, in Jesus‟ name.
4. Let my terror fall upon every demonic power, in Je
sus‟ Name.
5. Where is the Lord God of Elijah? Arise and manifest your power in my life, in Jesus‟ name.
6. Let the power of deliverance come upon my night life, in Jesus‟ name.
7. Let my dream life be converted to visions of the night, in Jesus name
HOW TO BECOME A PRAYER WARRIOR
Greg Addison Topic: #7 of 69 for Sermons on Prayer: In the Spirit Scripture: Ephesians 6:10-6:20 Denomination: Baptist, Date Added: November 2006Audience: Believer Adults (31 – 49)How to Become a Prayer Warrior
Ephesians 6: 10-20
In reading this passage, we‟ll see these three principles:
I. Command to be a Prayer WarriorII. Condition of a Prayer WarriorIII. Concentration of a Prayer Warrior3) I. Command to be a Prayer Warrior
“praying always with all prayer and supplications … being watchful to this end with all perseverance…”
Firs
t, is this command. This command is found alongside the description of a Christian‟s armor
and spiritual warfare. The command to stand, repeated 5 times, in chapter 6 is joined with acommand to pray. God emphasized the importance of standing strong in His strength and inorder to do that He commands us to pray as part of that. No Christian will ever rise above the level of his/her prayer life. No church will ever rise abovethe collective strength of the prayer life of its people.This military analogy is vital for us to understand. We are at war! One reason we have suchwimpy Christians today is we do not pray as if we are at war. That is why we are in the mess we
are in culturally. The seriousness of praying like a warrior is highlighted in the “all”s
containedin the command:AlwaysAll prayersAll perseverance
“All prayers” is combined with two different greek words for prayer. This is to emphasize using
each kind of prayer. Here we use this acrostic to define the basic types of prayer:
P raiseR repentanceA skY ieldWe must use them all. Be engaged in them all. They are all necessary and a part of fighting andstanding. Where would your Christian life be without any one of these types? Another methodfor prayer is fasting. We have done this before as a church and we are doing it again as a churchthis weekend. The reason for fasting is to add intensity and focus through the use of a fast. It is away to become warrior like in our prayer intensity.II. Condition of a Prayer Warrior
“in the spirit”
Included in this command is the condition necessary to be a prayer warrior. You cannot justdecide to be a warrior, but you must be prepared to do so.
Let‟s define what “in the spirit” means. Ephesians speaks often of the Holy Spirit and help
s usunderstand this phrase properly.A. Saved
–
1:1-14 : You must be saved. In chapter 1, we saw last week we are only saved inJesus. When we are saved, He gives us the Holy Spirit as a seal.(1:14). If you have not trustedChrist as your savior, then the only role the Holy Spirit has in your life is to convict you and tellyou of your need to be saved.B. No unconfessed or harbored sin- 4:17-30
–
Sin in the life of a Christian does not cause us tolose our salvation, but it interrupts our relationship with God. Psalm 66:18
–
“if I hide sin in myheart, God will not hear my prayer.” John Bunyan said, “prayer will make a man cease from sin, but sin will make a man cease from prayer.”
Spurgeon: For God to accept our devotions while we are delighting in our sin, would be to makeHimself the God of hypocrites, which is a fitter name for Satan than for the Holy One of Israel.
See 4: 30, after a list of sins we are to remove, God says, “do not grieve the Holy Spirit.” That is
done by willingly sinning in this fashion- not confessing and then removing that sin from ourlives. The whole point of putting on the armor of chapter 6 is to stand clean and strong in the
Lord. The breastplate of righteousness represents a Christian‟
s steadfast commitment toobedience.
C. Yielded
–
5:8-
10 We must be yielded to the Spirit. What good does it do to pray for God‟s
will if we are not willing to follow it. Would God even reveal His will to you? We want to pray
like this: “Lord, show me your will and then I‟ll decide if I have the faith or desire to pursue it.”
Why would Holy God answer such a prayer and such an offensive spirit? We are to follow Godwherever He leads and trust Him to be at work. We do not need to demand a roadmap, butinstead should follow His light trusting that wherever He leads will be wonderful because Heloves us.D. Filled
–
5:18 Being filled with Holy Spirit. 5:18 means to surrender your mind and heart to
the Holy Spirit‟s guidance.This is being “in the spirit.”
When you are this focused in your spiritual walk, then you will beconditioned to be a mighty prayer warrior. Now that we are prepared for spiritual war as a warrior, what do you pray for? Would God makeus this strong to just pray for ourselves? NO!!!III. Concentration of a Prayer WarriorHe makes us strong in Him and leads us to pray, but to pray for His agenda and not ours. Hedoes not make you strong for your own benefit, but to fight for His kingdom! We are so self-centered that we only pray with real earnest when we are in trouble or really need something.Prayer is the lifeline and strength of a soldier fighting for Jesus and His kingdom. Rememberwhere we find this passage
–
putting on armor and fighting the schemes of the devil. God tells uswhere we are to concentrate our efforts as warrior.A. Strength to fight
–
Prayer is a part of how we put on our armor. It is how we use our armor.Remember last week
–
the power of praise to stand strong during struggles from Ephesians 1.That is an example of developing the strength to stand as commanded here in chapter 6.B. Saints we fight with
–
look “supplication for all the saints”(18) Paul commands us to pray
with all perseverance for the saints. Why? We are in this battle together. This is what we aredoing this week together as a church. Pray for one another
–
for unity, for faith, for clarity in
God‟s word, pray for each other to hear God‟s voice clearly, pray that God will show himself to
each one of us.
Let me show you what Paul prayed for when he prayed for the saints. Read Ephesians 3:14
–
21.When was the last time you sat down and prayed for your Sunday school class, as individuals,that they would receive these things?Read Ephesians 1:15-21. How many of your brothers or sisters have you prayed for to know and
understand God‟s power in their lives? When was the last time your class gathered around your
teacher, laid hands on him or her, and prayed this prayer? We need to become prayer warriors by praying for the saints with whom we fight.C. Sinners we fight for
–
finally, see Paul and his request. Verse 19. Remember, Paul is in prison.See verse 21-
22. But Paul does not ask them to pray for his release, Ceasar‟s demise, or any of
the things I would ask you to pray for if I were in prison. He asked for prayer warriors to pray forthe bold and effective furtherance of the gospel. Paul knew what was important. Church we needso desperately to remember that people around us are dying and going to hell.I spoke with a pastor friend the other night and we were discussing how slowly we had to dothings because of how temperamental church people are. They hate change, like to becomfortable, etc. The thought pounding itself out in my heart was this: is this what Jesus died onthe cross for us to be doi
ng? Making the saints comfortable so they won‟t fight? Did Jesus say
the gates of hell could not prevail against the church He would build or is that a figment of myimagination. I am not saying that we should not be wise and thoughtful in our leadership. Buthere is my point: Are we really warriors out to rescue the captive from the enemy with a life oreternal death passion? We could be if we prayed for the furtherance of the gospel like warriors!
PRAYING THE PRICE FOR THE SUPERNATURAL
C.A. McCracken Topic: #13 of 69 for Sermons on Prayer: In the Spirit Scripture: John 16:20-16:21 Denomination: Pentecostal Date Added: January 2005, Audience: General Adults (31 – 49)
“Praying The Price
for the
Supernatural”
John 16:20-21 20 Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice:and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. 21 A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as sheis delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born intothe world.
Leonard Ravenhill penned these words in his book “Revival Praying”
“Every church without a prayer meeting condemns us, every Bible daily unopened condemns us,
every lost neighbor condemns us, every lost heathen condemns us, every dry eye among uscondemns us, every wasted minute of our time condemns us, every unclaimed opportunity for
God condemns us…
Next year is not ours. Tomorrow may be too late. Unless we repent now, unless we return and
fire the prayer altars now, unless we fast and weep now, woe unto us at judgement!”
I am hungry for the supernatural!I am more than ready to see God move in this hour in ways that we have never dreamed possible.I want to see miracles take place in this building.I want to see hundreds come to the Lord in this building!I am like MLK, I too have a dream!I believe that the Bible has something to say about end-time dreams.Joe 2:28 And it shall come to pass afterward,
that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh
; and
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy
,
your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
It is not only God‟s Word that we dream, It is also His Will!
But before the dream can become reality…
And before the thought come into being…
A PRICE MUST BE PAID!The supernatural only comes when the price is paid!Churches all across our county are missing the presence, and power of the very one they claim toknow.Jesus is absent in too many churches today!
And there is good reason…
Many churches have
forgotten how to pay the price
!
The Supernatural is not welcomed in many denominations…
And, if I can be honest with you, it is not welcomed in many Pentecostal churches!Why would someone not want to be a part of church that sought after the face of God?Why would individuals be satisfied with little or no prayer in their lives?Why would a church-goer be satisfied with just a knowledge of the Word but yet no Holy Ghostactivity in their life?Why would individuals look holy, and even come to church regularly, but never tap into thesupernatural?Many years ago there was a young man in India who while sitting during a lecture noticed anelectric light in the room. This young man was so intrigued by this light that he asked if he could borrow the bulb, and the teacher obliged.Days later the young man returned downcast for the bulb was useless, he said. So the teacherwent to the young mans room and found the problem.The innocent young man had taken the bulb and tied it with a piece of string to the ceiling of theroom. He did not realize that he needed an electrical current to light the bulb.How many people today in churches all across our city have a string with a light bulb attached tothe ceiling?Without the proper connection, THERE IS NO POWER!Love is an attribute of God. And anyone can experience the love of God!
The Grace of God is extended to everyone…
it doesn‟t cost us a thing.
God‟s Mercy free to all!
And when it comes to salvation Jesus Christ paid a price at Calvary!
But, the experiencing the Supernatural Presence of God IS NOT FREE!
IT COST SOMETHING!
GOD’S POWER ONLY COMES WHEN THE PRICE IS PRAYED!
Over 30 years ago a Christian leader from India by the name of Bakht Singh wrote these words
in an article…
“The churches in India have a great burden for America just now… and are praying that Godwill visit your country with revival… You feel sorry for us in India because of our poverty in
material things. We who know the Lord in India feel sorry for you in America because of yourspiritual poverty. We pray that God will give you gold tried in the fire which He had promised to
those who know the power of His resurrection…
In our churches we spend five or six hours in prayer and worship, and frequently our people waiton the Lord in prayer all night; but in America after you have been in church for one hour, you begin to look at your watches.We pray that God open your eyes to the true meaning of w
orship… To attract people to meetings
you have a great dependence on posters, on advertising, on promotion, and on the build up of thehuman being; in India we have nothing more than the Lord Himself and we find that He issufficient.Before a Christian meeting in India we never announce who the speaker will be. When the people come, they come to seek the Lord and not a human being or to hear some special favoritespeaking to them.We have had as many as 12,000 people come together just to worship the Lord and to havefellowship together. We are praying that the people in America might also come to church with a
hunger for God…”
These so called poor, poverty-
stricken Indians were not so poor after all…
For you see, they knew how to PRAY the price!While some live under the curse of convenience, someone else is doing without and getting moreof God!The curse of convenience is killing churches in North America!Rev 3:14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen,the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;Rev 3:15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.Rev 3:16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of mymouth.
Rev 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing
;
and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: Rev 3:18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and whiteraiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; andanoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
——————————————————————————————-
The Revival that birthed the supernatural in North America took place in the early 1900‟s…Listen to an early report of this awesome event…
A company of people under the leadership of Chas. Parham,
were studying God‟s word tarryi
ngfor Pentecost, in Topeka, Kan. After searching through the country everywhere, they had beenunable to findany Christians that had the true Pentecostal power . So they laid aside allcommentaries and notes andwaited on the Lord, studying His word, and what they did notunderstand they got down before the bench and asked God to have wrought out in their hearts bythe Holy Ghost. They had a prayer tower in which prayers were ascending night and day to God.After three months, a sister who had been teaching sanctification for the baptism with the HolyGhost, one who had a sweet, loving experience and all the carnality taken out of her heart, feltthe Lord lead her to have hands laid on her to receive the Pentecost. So when they prayed, theHoly Ghost came in great power and she commenced speaking in an unknown tongue. Thismade all the Bible school hungry, andthree nights afterward, twelve students received the HolyGhost, and prophesied.The following clip is from the Apostolic Faith published by Bro. Chas. Parham at Baxter, Kan.
“A remarkable incident of God‟s searching power was recorded in Melrose, Kan., during a
revival which has been held by some of our young people at that place.“The power of the Holy Spirit was greatly manifested in the meetings by the speaking inunknown tongues. This was much criticized by the town and vicinity, so the principal physician,who was familiar with several different languages, was prevailed upon to go to the meetings inorder to denounce the whole as a fake. Miss Tuthill, in an unknown language to herself, butknown to him as Italian, spoke his full name, which no one in the town knew save himself,telling him things that had happened in his life twenty years ago, and on up to the present time,until he cried for mercy and fell on his knees seeking God.
He found full salvation the next day, and is now a believer in ‟the Gospel‟ that Jesus taught, and
also in the power of the Holy Ghost that was given unto us to witness to a living Christ. He nowsays he would rather pray for the sick than give drugs, and is seriously thinking of leaving his
profession and going into the Lord‟s work.
Many precious souls have been saved, sanctified and baptized with the Holy Ghost as a result ofthe preached wo
rd under the Spirit‟s anointing power.”
_______________________________________________________________The meetings in Los Angeles started in a cottage meeting, and Pentecost fell there three nights.The people had nothing to do but wait on the Lord and praise Him, and they commencedspeaking in tongues, as they did at Pentecost,and the Spirit sang songs through them.The meeting was then transferred to Azusa Street, and since then multitudes have been coming.
The meetings begin about ten o‟clock in the m
orning and can hardly stop before ten or twelve atnight, and sometimes two or three in the morning, because so many are seeking, and some areslain under the power of God. People are seeking three times a day at the altar and row after rowof seats have to be emptied and filled with seekers. We cannot tell how many people have beensaved, and sanctified, and baptized with the Holy Ghost, and healed of all manner of sicknesses.
►Many have laid aside their glasses and had their eye
-sight perfectly restored.The deaf have had their hearing restored.
►A man was healed of asthma of twenty years standing.►Many have been healed of heart trouble and lung trouble
“About 160 people in Los Angeles, more than on the day of Pentecost, have received the gift ofthe Holy Ghost and the Bible evidence, the gift of tongues, and many have been saved andsanctified, nobody knows how many.People are seeking at the altar three times a day and it is hard to close at night on account ofseekers and those who are under the power of God.In the meetings, it is noticeable that while some in the rear are opposing and arguing, others areat the alter falling down under the power of God and feasting on the good things of God. The twospirits are always manifest, but no opposition can kill, no power in earth or hell can stop God
‟s
work, while He has consecrated instruments through which to work.The power of God now has this city agitated as never before. Pentecost has surely come and withit the Bible evidences are following, many being converted and sanctified and filled with theHoly Ghost, speaking in tongues as they did on the day of Pentecost. The scenes that are dailyenacted in the building on Azusa street and at Missions and Churches in other parts of the cityare beyond description.In a short time God began to manifest His power and soon the building could not contain the people. Now the meetings continue all day and into the night and the fire is kindling all over thecity and surrounding towns. Proud, well dressed preachers come into “investigate.” Soon theirhigh looks are replaced with wonder, then conviction came, and very often you will find them ina short time wallowing on the dirty floor, asking God to forgive them and make them as littlechildren.It would be impossible to state how many have been converted, sanctified, and filled with theHoly Ghost. They have been and are daily going out to all points of the compass to spread thiswonderful gospel.”
Our text…
John 16:20-2120 Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: andye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.21 A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she isdelivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into theworld.
When the church truly PRAYS the price…
The SUPERNATURAL takes the place of the natural…
The ordinary is replaced with the EXTRAORDINARY!
Healings happen, Miracles are the norm and not the exception…
Babes are born into
the church…
Backsliders come to the realization that they need God…
Cars passing this church will be compelled to turn in!
“Praying
the Price for the
Supernatural”
