Don’t Forget The Blood !

Eph 1:7(The MESSAGE)
Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we're a free people - free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free!”
 

Col 1:20(THE MESSAGE)
“…Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe - people and things, animals and atoms -get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the Cross.”

Recently, i heard someone say and rightly so, that all men (especially those who lay claim to atheism and free-thinking) may not own up their successful livelihood to Jesus but have always shouted his Name in their days of crisis(including pleading his blood for protection).

So how do you suddenly acknowledge what you didn't believe in or had despised. This to me is the height of denial and insincerity.

Let's face it, Jesus' Blood alone is pure enough to cleanse man's conscience from sin and potent enough to keep one safe in the days of adversity.

We must never forget the Blood!

THE CHURCH MEMBER'S CREED

I am a church member.
I will seek to be a source of unity in the church. I know there are no perfect pastors, staff, or other church members. But neither am I. I will not be a source of gossip or dissension. One of the greatest contributions I can make is to do all I can in God’s power to help keep the church in unity for the sake of the gospel.

I am a church member.
I will not let my church be about my preferences and desires. That is self-serving. I am in this church to serve others and to serve Christ. My Savior went to a cross for me. I can deal with any inconveniences and matters that are just not my preference or style.

I am a church member.
I will pray for my pastor every day. His work is never-ending. His days are filled with constant demands for his time; with the need to prepare sermons; with those who are rejoicing in births; with those who are traveling through the valley of the shadow of death; with critics; with the hurts and hopes of others; and with the need to be a husband and a father. My pastor cannot serve our church in his own power. I will pray for God’s strength for him and his family every day.

I am a church member.
I like the metaphor of membership. It’s not membership as in a civic organization or a country club. It’s the kind of membership given to us in 1 Corinthians 12: “Now you are the body of Christ and individual members of it” (I Corinthians 12:27). Because I am a member of the body of Christ, I must be a functioning member, whether I am an “eye,” an “ear,” or a “hand.” As a functioning member, I will give. I will serve. I will minister. I will evangelize. I will study. I will seek to be a blessing to others. I will remember that “if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it” (1 Corinthians 12:26).

I am a church member.
I will lead my family to be good members of this church as well. We will pray together for our church. We will worship together in our church. We will serve together in our church. And we will ask Christ to help us fall deeper in love with this church, because He gave His life for her.

I am a church member.
This membership is a gift. When I received the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ, I became a part of the body of Christ. I soon thereafter identified with a local body and was baptized. And now I am humbled and honored to serve and to love others in our church. I pray that I will never take my membership for granted, but see it as a gift and an opportunity to serve others, and to be a part of something so much greater than any one person or member.

I am a church member.
And I thank God that I am.

I COMMAND THE DESTROYER TO STOP NOW! : A Clarion Call For GOVERNMENTAL PRAYERS AND DECREES.

Micah 7:11(NKJV)
"In the day when your walls are to be built, In that day the decree shall go far and wide".

It is God's nature to issue decrees! (Ps 105:1;Ps 148:6;Jer.51:12)
In the spirit realm, restoration or the building of a great destiny takes place only as result of divine decrees .It is these decrees that is at the heart of Governmental Prayer.

What Does Governmental Mean?:
Government is about control...! According to Dutch Sheets, internationally known speaker,Prayer warrior and Executive Director of Christ for the Nations Institute,USA, "the question of who's in control is a governmental issue". 
We often think of government only in its civil sense, but Webster's defines govern as "to direct and control; to regulate by authority; to influence; to direct; to restrain; to steer or to regulate the course of; to exercise authority to maintain the superiority." 
Therefore to govern means To exercise authority.

Concepts In Governmental Prayers
1. Spirit Policing- This is the act of spiritual monitoring and scanning of the environment against demonic contaminations.
2. Decrees and Proclamations- These are pronouncements to implement spirit governance.
A combination of these actions release the Watchers and Archangels into the earth realm of mortals so then there are Divine Visitations like Miraculous Deliverances,Visions,Trances,Dreams,and other Supernatural Orchestrations.
These are all prophetic actions that hamstring demon powers from continuing to perpetrate evil.These actions loosen hindered angels(Jude 1,Daniel's 21 days prayer) from their grip to execute the whole counsel of God.
I concur with what a highly respected prophetic intercessor said recently,that "the church shouldn't know more about about demons than she should know about angels (her ministering spirits)"

Praying with Authority
As the works of nature(Wind,Sea,Fig Tree,etc) all obeyed Christ Jesus whenever He issued a decree against them.
Praying with authority, therefore, is "governmental intercession." So, in essence, this is an issue of government—not politics, but prayer! 

Politicians and government officials legislate through man-made laws and rulings. We,the Church of the Living God legislate through spiritual laws, principles and activities. 
Governmental Prayer is how we(the Church)legislate.Yes through our strong prayer decrees!

The Dominion Mandate: Adam(Gen 1-Gen 3)
One of Scripture's primary themes is governmental authority. Adam before the Fall was actually created with a nature to rule, to govern, to exercise authority. Using Webster's definition of governing,man was created "to direct and control; to maintain the superiority," not to be lorded over by other people, evil forces or even unfortunate circumstances. Through the second Adam( Christ Jesus) we were redeemed and our dominion mandate was restored to us. Hence one who believes in Christ is an overcomer, a conqueror.
When Adam was placed in the Garden of Eden, God's instruction to him—which remains the same for us today—was to subdue, have dominion and multiply. Though this God-given propensity lost most of its purity at the fall, becoming infected with pride and selfish ambition (see Genesis 3), nonetheless the desire in humankind to govern its world was placed there by God.

PRINCIPLES IN ESTHER
This drive to govern and this call to legislate is "for such a time as this." In Scripture, this phrase was used to describe a season in which the life of a nation was at stake (Esth. 4:14). Esther and Mordecai, of course, were used by God to thwart wicked Haman's attempt to eradicate the Jews. 
Demon spirit always try to hinder the destiny of nations since they are fallen angels themselves. They hinder the progress of nations and would do anything(including bad leadership) so the nation is not raised up to continue its existence. This was the spirit that operated through Haman. This spirit wars for the destruction of a nation God raised up, empowered by satan himself.
However, God has a response to Hamans,the Jews' destroyer. It is an apostolic, praying church.One that will soon be offered the momentum of the last days;a third great awakening. 

FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS
It is appropriate to use this phrase precisely at this time in history: "For such a time as this." The Church of Christ is born for such a time as this with governing power.It is from the church that kingdom warriors will be birthed,trained and released by God to turn a nation such as ours back to its righteous roots and heavenly purpose.

Another part of this "army" will be found in human government roles. We must take back this part for its only as a righteous government come alongside a kingdom-minded and spirit-empowered church that God's righteous authority will fully enter the earth: "When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn" (Prov. 29:2, KJV).

It's time for the Church to arise in God's governmental authority—to direct, control, regulate, influence, restrain, steer and regulate the future course of this great nation—to maintain the status of superiority that God has given to us.

Our mandate is nothing less than this: "Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. See, I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant" (Jer. 1:9-10, NASB).

We must shift from petition prayer to declarative prayer. We must engage in authoritative governmental intercession, laying hold of God's Word and making it the sword that divides what is permissible from what cannot be!

Now let bones join to other bones according to Ezekiel's prophecy and may the Breath of the Almighty Jehovah Sabaoth Himself fill our hearts and churches with fresh fire of governmental prayers!

Is Abstinence Unrealistic? By Lakita Garth-Wright

I’ve had the opportunity to speak to millions of teens from across the U.S. about abstinence, and you’d be shocked at some of the answers I’ve gotten when I ask people to define “abstinence.” When I first started speaking, I went to a preparatory school in Beverly Hills where they spend a lot of cheese to send their kids to school.

Cheese is the equivalent of cheddar, bling-bling, ice or whatever vernacular kids are using these days for money. So I asked the crowd, “Can anyone tell me what abstinence is?”

This one chick raised her hand and said, “Um, it’s like, um, really, like you know what I’m sayin’....it’s like a growth that like grows in the back of your neck.”

And I said, “No, honey, that’s an abscess....okay.”

Then I got in my car and rolled across to the south side of L.A. to a high school in Compton. As you probably guessed, they don’t spend no cheese to send their kids to that broke-down, tore-up school.
So I asked the assembly at Compton, “Can anyone tell me what abstinence is?

Sista girl raised her hand and said, “Yo, um, it’s like this. You know what I’m saying? It’s like Mookey and Yoyo told me that Yashika and Camoochi said it was like a bird.” And I said, “No, honey, that’s an albatross...okay.” People have some crazy definitions for abstinence. But abstinence is not a growth and it is not a bird: It is saving sex until marriage.

It means waiting until you say “I do”—which means I do you, you do me and we don’t do nobody else. Abstinence: Waiting until you say “I do”—which means I do you, you do me and we don’t do nobody else. Mom wasn’t afraid to talk about abstinence. She was very clear: “You have sex and I will kill you.”

When I thought of premarital sex, pregnancy and disease were not the first things that came to mind. I feared a major time-out: I might not come back out of consciousness after my mom found out. But the ultimate time-out would be the disappointment I would feel from my mom because she gave me her best and I didn’t give it back.

Many people believe abstinence is completely unrealistic—and it is if someone shakes their finger at you, tells you not to do it and then doesn’t show you how to live it. My mom demonstrated for us as a single parent what it was to abstain from sex. She didn’t have a string of boyfriends sleeping over or living with us. And she didn’t just advocate sexual abstinence—she promoted a lifestyle of abstinence from all risky behaviors including drugs, alcohol and violence.

She knew that if you’re not modeling what you’re teaching, and then you’re teaching something else. If you’re not modeling what you’re teaching, then you’re teaching something else. Teaching abstinence isn’t shaking your finger and telling someone to “just say no.”

Teaching abstinence is mastery and demonstration of the arts of self-control, self- discipline and delayed gratification. Many adults are busy telling young people don’t do this or don’t do that, which only helps them focus on what not to do. Not doing those things becomes its own end. But my parents communicated to us that the things we were to abstain from—including smoking, drinking and promiscuity—were a means to an end. The end was a better life, and those things were obstacles that would get in the way.

(Culled from Spirit Led Woman,Charisma Magazine)

Sexual Purity And Faithfulness Can Be Achieved. Here is how:

Science Proves Premarital Sex Rewires the Brain- Jeremy Wiles(JEREMY WILES/CONQUERSERIES.COM)
(A material Culled from Charisma News)

There’s a reason why breaking up from a sexual relationship is much more emotionally painful and much harder to forget than one that didn’t involve sex. There are several neurochemical processes that occur during sex, which are the “glue” to human bonding.

Sex is a powerful brain stimulant. When someone is involved sexually, it makes him or her want to repeat that act. Their brain produces lots of dopamine—a powerful chemical, which is compared to heroin on the brain. Dopamine is your internal pleasure/reward system. When dopamine is involved, it changes how we remember.

The other part is oxytocin, which is designed to mainly help us forget what is painful. Oxytocin is a hormone produced primarily in women’s bodies. When a woman has a child and she is breastfeeding, she produces lots of oxytocin, which bonds her to her child. For this reason, mothers will die for their child, because they’ve become emotionally bonded due to the oxytocin that is released when they’re skin-to-skin with their child.

The same phenomenon occurs when a woman is intimate with a man. Oxytocin is released, and this makes her bond to him emotionally. Have you wondered sometimes why a woman will stay with a man who’s abusing her? We know now that it’s because she bonded to him emotionally because of the oxytocin released during sex.

Men produce vasopressin, which is also referred to as the “monogamy hormone,” and it has the same effect as oxytocin has on a woman. It bonds a man to a woman.

These “bonding” agents narrow our selection to one person. That is wonderful in a marriage relationship but really bad in a dating relationship because you lose your objectivity when you’re searching for your potential lifemate.

Impaired Judgment

According to neuropsychologist Dr. Tim Jennings, “When you have premarital sex, your reward circuitry is bonded to them now, and it will be much deeper and hurtful. Oftentimes, in breakups of people who’ve been sexually active, they can’t tolerate the sense of emptiness, so they rush into another relationship. The neuro circuits did not have time to reset, and so they’re impaired in their ability to bond with the next person, and they may become sexually active with them. This is just a repetitive cycle, and there are real impairments in bonding going on.”

Becoming Bonded With Porn

These same neurochemicals are present when viewing pornography. A man will become bonded with whatever he is engaged in during the moment these chemicals are released. When your relationship is being carried on with an image, you become bonded to whatever you’re viewing.

Dr. Doug Weiss, a marriage counselor, advises men to have eye contact with their wives during sex because they become bonded with that person. By doing this, he explains that, over time, individuals will decrease the “neural pathway to pornography and sexually inappropriate thoughts and believes and glue to healthy sexuality to [their] wife. When your brain thinks sex, it thinks, ‘Where’s my wife?’ And that is a great way to fight this battle."

Discovering how our minds were designed to operate by a magnificent Creator reveals truth in the way we are to live.

Cycle of Sexual Sin

For someone viewing porn, one of the functions of oxytocin is to separate the experience and the excitement from the intensity of the shame. According to neuropsychologist Dr. Jes Montgomery, “Usually by the time they turn the computer off, they are already sinking into a sense of failure and shame, and the function of oxytocin is to tell the brain, 'Wait a minute. You don’t want to remember that. You want to hold on to this excitement and this amazing magic that you just experienced.'”

Knowing how these neurochemicals interact and change the brain help us understand why sex is meant to be kept within the boundaries of marriage. You see the overtones here about God’s design for His pure temple. This is another reason why the devil attacks our sexuality so much—because in attacking human sexuality, it actually interferes with human bonding.

So, for those practicing sex outside of marriage, they are creating a bond with their partner, thus inhibiting their discernment of whether they should remain in that relationship. God wired and designed our brains for a specific purpose: to bond ourselves with the person we marry.

Jennings, Weiss and Montgomery are just several of the many experts featured in the Conquer series 6-disk DVD set who provide amazing insight that help set men free from sexual sin, while providing practical steps to live in purity.

Jeremy Wiles is the executive producer and director of the Conquer series. For the original article, please visit conquerseries.com.