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If you are awake to the things of the Lord these days, you know that we have reached the "end of the end" of this age. We've come to the last of the last days. Jesus' return is upon us and I am convinced His coming is even sooner than we think.

The rain of the Spirit is falling. The glory of God is increasing all over the earth. It is a thrilling time to be alive.

It is also a dangerous time.

As the devil's time grows shorter, he is striking out with greater fury. I would have to say that over the past few years I've seen more attacks on Christians than I ever have before. I've seen sickness attack their bodies. I've seen attacks on marriages, on families and on people's minds.

As I watch these things occurring, I think of Revelation 12:12 which says, "Therefore be glad (exult), O heavens and you that dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in fierce anger (fury), because he knows that he has [only] a short time [left]? (AMP).

There's no doubt about it; these are serious days. But even so, we don't have to be frightened. We don't have to be worried because God has given us spiritual weapons to use in these days. He's given us weapons so powerful they can make us victorious over the devil's every attack.

He's given us His Word. He's given us His Spirit. And if you'll read verses 10 and 11 there in Revelation 12, you'll see another weapon that God has given us.
And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. 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.
(Rev. 12:10-11)
I am absolutely convinced that the blood of Jesus is the most powerful weapon we have against the devil. And it is high time we started to use it. It's time we started preaching and singing about the blood again. It's time we spent time talking about the blood. It's time we started applying the blood by faith every single day of our lives!

Watch!
You see, Jesus has already stripped the devil of his authority. If you've made Jesus the Lord of your life, the devil has no right to come barreling in anytime he wants and bring harm to you. He has to gain access. He has to find an open door.

There are two ways we open the door to the devil. The first way is through sin. If you're living in fornication, or adultery, if you're lying, stealing or being hateful and unkind, that gives the devil an entrance into your life.

The second way we can open the door to the devil is through lack of watchfulness. We can unintentionally let him in by neglecting to watch and pray and by failing to use the weapons God has provided for us.

Jesus knew that. He also knew that such neglect would cost us dearly at the end of the age when evil began to increase. That is why when He spoke of the last days he said, "Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass ..." (Luke 21:36). The apostle Paul gave the same instructions in 1 Thessalonians 5:
But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night...Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.(1 Thess. 5:1-2, 6)
One of the ways to be watchful in this day is to honor the blood of Jesus. If we'll yield to the prompting of the Holy Spirit and plead the blood over our families and over specific situations as He leads us, it can literally save lives.

Let me show you what I mean. A couple of years ago, some friends of mine who live in Oklahoma were planning to drive up into the hills and minister on an Indian reservation. The morning they were preparing to leave, the phone rang. It was their pastor's wife. She'd been praying for them and sensed very strongly that they shouldn't leave the house that morning without pleading the blood of Jesus over themselves and their family.

The couple quickly agreed. They prayed with their pastor's wife and pled the blood over all their affairs that day.

Just a few hours later, they were driving along a winding road toward the Indian reservation. Suddenly, they rounded a curve and saw that another car had stalled and was blocking the road. Unable to stop, they slammed into it at about 50 miles per hour.

After the wreck, the couple realized they were fine and hopped out of the car to check on the other driver. What they discovered amazed them. Not only was the other driver fine, she too was a born again Christian. What's more, neither car was damaged. It was a miracle!

Of course, spectators had gathered and they were all exclaiming about what had happened. But when my friends started praising the Lord and shouting about the blood of Jesus, they all ran away!

God's Property: KEEP OUT!
Why is pleading the blood of Jesus so powerful?

For one thing, the blood ratifies or confirms our covenant with God. (See Hebrews 13:20, Amplified Bible.) When you plead the blood of Jesus, you are activating God's covenant promises to you. Does God's Word promise you protection? Yes, and the blood activates that protection for you! Does God's Word promise you deliverance? Yes, and the blood activates that deliverance for you!

Another vital truth about Jesus' blood is that it pays the price for all sin. Therefore, when we repent of our sins and receive the blood by faith it puts us in perfect right standing with God. First John 1:7 says it this way, "If we walk in the light, as he (God) is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin."

We all miss God's best at times. We stumble into sin and we make mistakes. The devil would like to use those things to gain entrance into our lives. But when we plead the blood, it seals off those entrances. It shuts off the devil's access to us. The blood is a spiritual sign that says to Satan, "This is God's property. KEEP OUT!"

One of the first and most powerful demonstrations of how the blood works to protect is the first Passover recorded in the book of Exodus. You probably remember the story. The Israelites had become slaves in the land of Egypt. God had sent Moses to tell the Egyptian Pharaoh to let the Israelites go. Pharaoh had refused and as a result, Egypt had been stricken with nine plagues.

Finally, God gave Pharaoh an ultimatum:
Thus saith the Lord, About midnight will I go out in the midst of Egypt: and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts. And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more. But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know how that the Lord doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.
(Ex. 11:4-7)
Ushering in the Glory
Read that last line again. It says God was going to put a difference between the Egyptians and the Israelites. He was going to keep His people alive and well in the midst of the most terrible plague the earth had ever known.

How would He do it? By applying the blood of a sacrificial lamb!

God instructed each family of Israelites to sacrifice a lamb, which was a type, or foreshadow of the true Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus. Then He told them to take the blood of that lamb and apply it to the doorposts of their houses.
For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord. And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.
(Ex. 12:12-13)
No doubt, you know the rest of the story. The Israelites were kept safe by the blood just as God promised. And that very night, God brought them out of Egypt. He set them free and they went forth completely healed and whole. We know they did because Psalm 105:37 says that God "brought [Israel] forth also with silver and gold, and there was not one feeble person among their tribes" (AMP).

In other words, God not only delivered them from captivity. He delivered them into their inheritance!

The same thing is true for us today. If we will apply the blood of Jesus, we'll not only be delivered from the destruction of the devil and the calamities of this world, we'll be brought into the glorious plan of God!

Saints in years past understood that better than we do today. Sister Maria Woodworth Etter, for example, ministered during the late 1800s and in her services she would come out on the platform and say, "I sprinkle the blood." When she did people all over the congregation would fall under the power of God. Many would be healed and delivered. The blood ushered in God's glory.

Open Your Mouth and Speak
Of course, Sister Etter didn't actually have to sprinkle blood over the congregation. Jesus Himself as our high priest has already done that. The book of Hebrews says that after He was crucified and resurrected, He entered into the sanctuary of heaven itself and offered His own blood as an eternal sacrifice to cleanse our sins for all time.

What Sister Etter did was release her faith in the power of that blood by speaking about it. She applied the blood with the words of her mouth. She was following the prescription for victory we saw in Revelations 12:11, "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony!"

Remember this: It is not enough for us just to believe in the power of Jesus' blood. It's not enough for us just to trust that His blood cleanses and protects us. We have to do something about it. We have to apply the blood of the Lamb over our households as surely as the Israelites did on that first Passover night. Not by taking a brush and painting blood on our doorposts, but by opening our mouths in faith and saying things like:

Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus, I plead the blood of Jesus over each member of my family today. I thank You that His blood covers all of us, spirit, soul and body. I thank You that His blood protects us from the attacks of the devil and keeps us safe today. I thank You that the blood delivers us from the schemes of Satan and delivers us into the glorious plan of God!

Please understand, I'm not giving you a set prayer to pray. There's nothing magical about any certain set of words. But there is something extremely powerful about faith-filled words released in accordance with the Word of God.

If you know me, you know I'm not into formula prayers. I never have been and never will be. But I have noticed that ever since I began to see the power of pleading the blood of Jesus, the Holy Spirit has prompted me again and again to do it. I don't have to make a note to remind myself. I don't have to put a string on my finger. I've found the Holy Spirit is faithful to help me remember because it is as important to Him as it is to me.

If you ask Him, I know He'll do the same for you. Each day as you pray, He will speak to your heart and say, "Don't forget to plead the blood."

When He does, don't delay. Just be diligent and obey. Do as the Holy Spirit directs and even in this dangerous day, you will walk the victory way!

Copyright © Mac Hammond Ministries
All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Author Biography

Lynne Hammond
Web site: Lynne Hammond Ministries
 
A teacher and an author, Lynne publishes a newsletter called Prayer Notes, has written numerous books, and currently serves as the national prayer director for Daughters for Zion. Her passion for inspiring and leading others into the life of Spirit-led prayer continues to take her around the world to minister to believers whose heart cry, like hers, is “Lord, teach me to pray!”
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