AND THY

HOUSE

Your family can

be saved!

FOREWORD BY BENNY

HlNN

DAVID ALSOBROOK

First Printing, October 1981

Second Printing, December 1982

Third Printing, June 1983

Fourth Printing, February 1997

©Copyright 1981 by David Alsobrook. Permission to

reprint usually granted by author.

Sure Word Ministry

P. O. Box 2305

Brentwood, TN 37024

Printed in The United States of America

Contents

Foreword

7

The Mind Blinder

9

And Thy House

11

Noah

13

Abraham and Lot

17

I Sought For a Man

21

Rahab

23

Protection for Intercessors

31

It Is Well

35

Kings and Priests

39

Whose Soever Sins Ye Remit

45

A Word From Pastor Benny Hinn

51

A Special Prayer of Agreement

53

And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou

shalt be saved, and thy house.

Acts 16:31

Foreword

Your loved ones can be saved—every one of them!

It doesn't matter how resistant your loved ones may be

to the message of the gospel, nor how long they have

successfully evaded the convicting power of the Holy

Spirit. God is a covenant-keeping God, and salvation is a

covenant that extends beyond an individual believer to

include the entire family.

AND THY HOUSE presents an inspirational and

scriptural message of household salvation. Through

examples like Noah, Abraham and Lot, Rahab, and others,

this book illustrates God's covenant-keeping promises as

declared in Deuteronomy 7:9 which says, "Therefore know

that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps

covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who

love Him and keep His commandments."

God is a covenant-keeping God! According to God's

Word, your loved ones can and will be saved! The biblical

truths contained in this book will show you how that can

come about.

Benny Hinn

January, 1997

7

The Mind Blinder

1

No one would purposely drive over a cliff. He would

only do this if he was not in his right mind, or if he was

unable to see the impending danger. The Scriptures teach

that the lost are held in both conditions. Would anyone in

his right mind, clearly able to see eternal values, reject

Jesus Christ and refuse eternal life?

But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: in

whom the god of this world [Satan] hath blinded the minds of

them which believe not, lest [otherwise] the light of the

glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should

shine unto them. (2 Corinthians 4:3-4).

If I ignorantly drove toward a cliff I would be in

danger of needlessly ending my life. Many millions are

nearing their death and approaching judgment oblivious

of their need to repent of their sins (Hebrews 9:27).

Underneath a multitude of foolish excuses is a blinded

reasoning. The mind blinder has done his work.

As believers we have authority, not over the will of the

lost, but over Satan who blinds the minds of all

unbelievers. We can bind "the mind blinder," permitting

the glorious light of Jesus to shine upon the lost. The Word

gives us special authority (as we will study) to intercede

for blood relatives. Jesus gave us authority over "all the

power of the enemy" (Luke 10:19). It is my intention to show

that believers can intercede for the salvation of their

families with absolute confidence. The Word of God

9

And Thy House

clearly teaches one way of getting our lost loved ones

saved is through intercessory prayer. I am not saying that

we have unequivocal authority over people's wills, but

only over Satan—who has blinded their minds.

10

And Thy House

2

In Acts 16 we are told of Paul and Silas being unjustly

imprisoned in Philippi. Rather than murmuring over their

lot, the Scripture tells us they were singing songs of praise.

The other prisoners were taking note of this unusual

response, when suddenly they felt a strange rumble. An

earthquake shook the prison foundations. None of the

astonished inmates attempted to escape, even though their

shackles fell like broken twine, and the locked door swung

open!

When the Philippian jailer awakened he saw the

opened prison doors and naturally thought there had been

an escape. Knowing Roman law, he drew out his sword to

kill himself. He did this to save his family from public

disgrace. When a prisoner escaped, under Roman law, the

officer in charge forfeited his life in exchange. His family

would bear disgrace. No humiliation would come to his

family however if he were killed in the line of duty by

escaping prisoners. An escaped prisoner meant death for

the jailer either way, so he evidently preferred to die at his

post rather than before the Roman Council.

Because Paul was in a darkened inner cell, he could

not have seen by the natural eye that the jailer was about

to kill himself. God must have revealed to Paul that the

jailer was preparing to commit a needless suicide. The

jailer heard an urgent voice cry out in the darkness: "Do

thyself no harm: for we are all here."

11

And Thy House

The jailer called for a light and fell before Paul and

Silas asking, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" Paul

answered, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be

saved, AND THY HOUSE" (HOUSE meaning "family").

Luke tells u s:

They spoke unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that

were in his house. The jailer took them the same hour of the

night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all

his, straightway. And when he had brought them to his house,

set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with ALL

HIS HOUSE.

Salvation for a whole household has its setting in the

Old Testament. In the book of Exodus, Chapter 12, the

Passover night instruction was given by God. "I am going

to bring you out of the land of Egypt by a great and mighty

hand . . Every one of you shall take A LAMB FOR AN

HOUSE" (v. 3).

Jesus is a lamb for a family. If one member partakes of

Him all the family can, and that individual should believe

the entire family WILL partake of Christ. Noah is such an

example.

12

Noah

3

In Hebrews 11:7 we see that Noah prepared an ark by

faith for the purpose of saving his family. Noah, listed in

God's "Hall of Faith," believed God for the saving of his

house. His obedience to God's instructions was the means

of saving his wife, three sons and their three wives. Eight

souls were saved by water (2 Peter 2:5). Noah believed

God to the saving of his household; his whole family was

saved. God did that for Noah and you can interpret it that

He will do the same for you. If He did that for Noah, He

would do no less for you.

While in prayer recently the phrase “Noah, the eighth

person" was repeatedly impressed on my mind. I had read

that verse before, but now I took time to study it.

“And spared not the old world, BUT SAVED NOAH THE

EIGHTH PERSON, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in

the flood upon the world of the ungodly" (2 Peter 2:5). Yes,

there was Noah, his wife, his sons (Shem, Ham and

Japheth), and each of their wives. Noah was one; his wife

would be two, the three sons would add up to five, and

their wives would make eight. The Spirit prompted me

that I was counting incorrectly: Japheth and his wife

would not be numbers seven and eight; “Noah (was) the

EIGHTH person." Then I came into a revelation. Since

Noah was the head of his house, it is only proper to

assume that he would be FIRST and not last. Yet Peter said

he was the LAST (eighth).

13

And Thy House

Note what Hebrews 11:7 records:

By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as

yet, moved with fear,1 prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir

of the righteousness which is by faith.

For 120 years Noah built his ark. For all of those years

his neighbors scoffed at him. During this time his sons

were born, grew up and married. To his neighbors Noah

was a very strange person—he preached there was going

to come a day when water would actually fall out of the

clouds of the sky. Such a preposterous thing! No one had

heard of such! They didn't even have a name for it. Yet

Noah kept saying it was going to “rain," and flood the

earth. (Until that time the earth had not experienced rain.

Genesis 2:6 tells us that a mist came up out of the earth

and watered it every night).

Noah, disturbed by the evil of his generation,

preached righteousness, hammered away at his ark and

plastered pitch over the gopher wood. During this time

his sons, no doubt, became the object of jokes, and when

they married they probably heard on their honeymoon:

“You know, Shem, you are really a sweet guy and your

dad is a nice man, but all of this stuff about a flood

coming, now really!" I can imagine one of the sons saying

to his new bride, “Well, Daddy is pretty old, he is nearing

500 now." The ridicule continued 120 years, yet Noah

continued his fruitless preaching. (It should be noted that

Noah didn't built the ark to save animals, as is commonly

1 Noah was not moved by fear that torments and dominates, which

God tells us not to have (1 John 4:18), but was moved by the fear of

the Lord that comforts and motivates (Acts 9:31).

14

Noah

presented in Sunday school lessons. He built the ark to

save his family. The animals were God's idea.)

God gave a sure sign to the world almost a thousand

years before the flood. He always lets His prophets know

what He is going to do. “Surely the Lord God will do

nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the

prophets" (Amos 3:7). God revealed to Enoch, the first

prophet (Jude 14), that this rain would come the same year

his first son would die. Scripture implies this revelation so

changed Enoch that he walked with God and pleased Him

the next 300 years until his translation (Genesis 5:21-24).

Enoch passed this revelation to succeeding generations

and, as this sign from God, named his first son

METHUSELAH, which means “it shall break forth." Sure

enough, Methuselah died at the age of 969, exactly 120

years after Noah began preaching and building his ark!

The same year the flood came.

Noah was a righteous man and found grace in the

sight of the Lord. In God's arithmetic Noah, the first in his

family, now became the eighth. So if the eighth was

accounted righteous, the seven before him were

automatically accepted. When they went into the huge

ark, Noah's wife, his sons and their wives went in first. He

went in last as "the eighth person" and God shut the door.

Just as Noah prepared the ark for the saving of his

family, and his righteousness was credited to their

account, you too can do that in your daily walk with God.

You can prepare an ark, and that refuge is Jesus Christ.

You can enter into God's presence claiming, "I want all my

family saved before judgment falls." God will start

15

And Thy House

counting you as the sixth or the fourth, or however many

there are in your family. If you are the first and you have

found favor with God, He will count you as the last. Your

whole family can be brought in.

16

Abraham and Lot

4

Abraham is often referred to by present-day Bible

teachers as "the father of faith." He is our example in faith.

Turn to Genesis, Chapter 18, for an illustration of this

man's grasp of God's intent.

The Lord had come in the form of a man with two

other "men" to visit with Abraham. Abraham prepared

him a meal. After they ate, the men rose to leave, and the

Lord said (regarding Sodom and Gomorrah), "I will go

down now and see whether they have done altogether according

to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know."

That is, "I'm going to go down and see if it is really as bad

as I hear, and if it isn't I'll know." Of course, God already

knows the condition of Sodom, but He speaks to Abraham

in a way he could understand.

Our longsuffering God wanted someone to plead the

case of Sodom. He wanted someone who would stand in

the gap. When God implies He will judge Sodom and

Gomorrah, Abraham responds, “Will you destroy the

righteous with the wicked?" (v. 23). Abraham is thinking

about his nephew Lot and his family who were living in

Sodom.

Abraham had believed and followed God, who said to

him, "I will give you all this land." In time, Abraham said,

"Lot, our flocks have grown and there is strife among our

herdsmen, you choose what part of the land you want and I'll

take the other."

17

And Thy House

Lot looked down from the arid high country and

replied, "I'll take the green valley, thank you." His decision

reveals his centeredness on earthly things. At first he was

content to live in the remote areas of the plain, but because

commerce and trade were better in Sodom, he inched

closer to the heathen city, until he compromised whatever

remaining convictions and moved into the city. There he

could get a better price for his cattle, and was close to the

market.

Sodom was a notoriously wicked city; violence and

sexual perversion were rampant. The old English word

"sodomy" comes from Sodom. That the term was well

earned is seen where some men of the town attempted to

rape Lot's angelic guests who appeared as men.

Sodom and Gomorrah were huge cities where tens of

thousands probably lived. God promised Abraham if He

could find only fifty righteous people He would not

destroy the city. Abraham continued interceding until

God agreed to spare the city for ten righteous persons, but

God did not find even ten that were righteous, so

judgment had to come. Perhaps, after Abraham heard this

he asked, "If You find that there are not even ten

righteous, would You at least deliver my nephew?"

The Bible declares, "It came to pass, when God destroyed

the cities of the plain, that GOD REMEMBERED ABRAHAM,

and SENT LOT OUT of the midst of the overthrow, when he

overthrew the cities in which Lot dwelt" (19:29). In Genesis,

Chapter 18, we are told the angels went to Lot's house and

drew Lot out physically, along with his wife and

daughters. (Lot's daughters had not yet consummated

18

Abraham and Lot

their marriages and the espoused sons-in-law refused to

leave.)

God hears Abraham and sends Lot out of the city, not

because of Lot's standing with God, not because of what

Lot had done, but because of Abraham's favor with God.

God SENT LOT OUT BECAUSE HE REMEMBERED

ABRAHAM. Due to his consecration and faith Abraham

was in a place of preferred position with God. God

delivered Lot because Abraham prayed for him. God

brought Lot out of Sodom before destruction came as a

favor to His friend, Abraham (Genesis 19:29).

It is important to note that it was Abraham's place

with God that effected Lot's deliverance. When God

destroyed the cities of the plain, God remembered

Abraham. Abraham wasn't on the plain so why should he

be remembered? God remembered Abraham for another

person's sake: Lot's. God didn't remember Lot, as such, He

remembered Abraham. God delivered Abraham's

wayward nephew because He remembered Abraham.

"And Abraham got up early in the morning to the place

where he stood before the Lord," the Scripture tells us

(Genesis 19:27); so we know Abraham prayed much and

thanked God that He was sparing Lot from destruction.

Abraham had asked God to spare the city if there were ten

righteous. Here was Lot, his wife, and his two daughters

—that is four persons. During all the years Lot lived in

Sodom he didn't even get six other persons to accept

Yahweh. Lot was a sorry example, yet, God sent Lot out

BECAUSE HE REMEMBERED ABRAHAM.

By comparison, you may have a nephew out in the

19

And Thy House

world, but God remembers you, and He will send that

nephew out before destruction comes because of your

standing and intercession with God.

The Bible states the believer is "Abraham's seed"

(Galatians 3:29). It follows, then, that your wayward

relatives are your "Lots." Sodom is a type of the world,

and you may have quite a few "Lots" in the world. You

may have nephews, nieces, sons and daughters in the

world, but be of good cheer, God is going to bring them

out before He brings destruction upon the world. You

must make up the hedge for them.

"Well," you say, "I don't feel as godly as Abraham."

We think of Abraham as a giant in faith, but he was

not very tall in his early days. Romans 4:20 (alternate

rendering) tells us "he grew strong in faith." Actually, he

started out rather weak.

It is good for us to remember that God delights in

delivering people, if others will ask for them. In the Book

of Ezekiel is given a picture of God seeking just one

person to intercede for a whole nation!

20

I Sought For a Man

5

In Ezekiel, Chapter 22, God is giving the reasons why

He had to bring judgment on Israel. This was during the

time of the Babylonian captivity. Ezekiel was living by the

River Chebar, hundreds of miles from Israel, and God

explains why the judgment had to come. In verses 23-29

God tells of all the oppression, the robbery, the tormenting

of the poor and the needy, the oppressing of the stranger,

the lies, the witchcraft, the vanity, the destroying of souls,

and the profaning of Sabbaths that Israel had done all

those many years before the exile occurred. "The people of

the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have

vexed the poor and needy: yea, they have oppressed the stranger

wrongfully" (vs. 29). This was a condition ripe for

judgment.

However, the next two verses are quite amazing: "And

I sought for a man among them" [one man among the whole

nation!] "that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap

before me for the land," ["the land" is a title used for Israel]

"that I should not destroy it: But I found none."

God was looking for one man in Israel who could take

the place of the nation before Him... one man who could

stand in front of Him for the land "that I should not destroy

it." God said He did not want to destroy it. Had He found

a man who would stand before Him in the gap and make

up the hedge Jewish history would have been different,

but He gives this lamenting cry: "I found none. Therefore

21

And Thy House

have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have

consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I

recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord God" (22:31).

The same is true for our families. Your family may be

corrupt, wicked, and living for the devil. But you can be

standing in the gap for them and God won't pour out His

wrath upon them. ".. He delights in mercy" (Micah 7:18).

He will give mercy to your loved ones as you stand in the

gap for them.

In the Book of Joshua we see an example of one who

did not have any practical righteousness, but through the

hearing of the Word of God she gained faith, and that

faith was credited to her for righteousness.

22

Rahab

6

Only two women in God's "Hall of Faith" are listed in

Hebrews 11. One, of course, is the honored matriarch

Sarah, and the other, by stark contrast, is a prostitute! She

is even remembered as "the harlot Rahab" (Hebrews

11:31). Let's study her story.

"And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to

spy secretly saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they

went, and came into an harlot's house, named Rahab, and

lodged there" (Joshua 2:1). God had told Israel to pass over

Jordan and to take the city of Jericho. It was the first city in

the promised land that they were to possess. Jericho was

legally theirs by divine right, but they now had to go

forward and conquer it.

Jericho was a big walled city. Archaeologists have

discovered this ancient city and said the walls were

eighteen feet thick, and possibly inhabited by as many as

80,000 persons.

The only place the two spies could find lodging was in

a heathen harlot's house. She was engaged in a sinful

occupation, but was probably well-respected in her

heathen city. She was not an Israelite or a child of promise.

Rahab had heard what great things Yahweh had done

for Israel, and knew that the spies were men of God for

she said,

We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red

Sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto

23

And Thy House

the two kings of the Amorites... Sihon and Og... and as soon

as we heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there

remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the

Lord your God, he is God in heaven above, and in the earth

beneath. (Joshua 2:10, 11).

As today, news of miracles travels fast.

She asked them for favor to be given to her in

remembrance of the kindness she showed them in hiding

them from the king's soldiers, who had heard that spies

had been sent to their city. Noteworthy is Rahab's specific

request: "Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the

Lord, since I have showed you kindness, that ye will also shew

kindness unto my father's house, and give me a true token" (v.

12). She wanted a sign or an evidence that she would be

delivered and that Israel would save alive "my father, and

my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, AND ALL THAT

THEY HAVE, and deliver our lives from death."

The men promised that they would spare her (v. 14).

Then she let them down the wall through her window.

She told the men to get up to the mountains. They said to

her,

Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this

line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us

down by: and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother,

and thy brethren, and all thy father's household home unto

thee. (v. 18).

Rahab replied, "According unto your words, so be it"

(v. 21). As the spies departed, she bound the scarlet

line in the window.

In the Book of Joshua, Chapter 6, the Israelites were

24

Rahab

compassing the city of Jericho once every day. Joshua was

told to walk about the city once a day for six days, and for

the men not to utter one word as they walked about the

wall until they heard the blowing of the trumpet on the

seventh day (6:10).

If you were walking around a huge, thick wall like that

you might say, "My, look at this massive wall!" "Isn't that a

tremendous wall?" "We never saw a wall like that in the

wilderness." "Look at that thick, strong wall." "We don't

have any battering rams big enough, or stone-throwers to

knock down a wall like that."

Had the men heard these reports, after six days of it

they would have been so discouraged they would have

headed back for the wilderness. A lesson to draw from

this is if you can't speak positively when faced with a

"wall", it is better to say nothing.

Joshua said, "And when you do open your mouth on

the seventh day, don't say anything, just shout because the

Lord has given us the victory" (paraphrased).

In ancient days shouting was the last thing the

warriors did when they had conquered a stronghold. This

was their cry of victory that they had indeed won.

However, it was the first thing Israel was told to do on the

seventh day. In the face of those walls they were to shout,

because by faith they had already conquered (Joshua 6:2).

Many times had I heard and read this story of Rahab

and her deliverance from death and mistakenly thought it

was only a human agreement: she had made an

agreement with the spies who were men of integrity, and

Joshua had told his men to destroy everything but to spare

25

And Thy House

Rahab (6:22, 23). She had shown them a kindness, and

they in turn showed her a kindness—as they were

plundering the city and destroying all the people, young

and old, and even all the animals.

Joshua's word to the army was: "When you go in,

destroy every woman, man, boy, girl" —God wanted to purge

the city of all its idolatry—"slay everything that lives,

except when you look up and see the red rope hanging

out the window on the wall—don't slay anyone in that

house. Keep them alive" (paraphrased from Joshua 6:17).

It came to pass when the people heard the sound of

the trumpet which the priests blew, and the people

shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down—flat. I

had always thought that the entire wall around Jericho

fell. However, in Joshua 2:15 the Bible plainly says Rahab

dwelt "IN A HOUSE UPON THE TOWN WALL!" When

she let the spies out by the window, they were then

outside the city wall! I now understand her deliverance

was not just a result of a human agreement, but she had

faith toward the God of Israel. Just as Jesus said

concerning the Roman Centurion: "I have not found so great

faith, no, not in Israel" (Matthew 8:10). So we see in the Old

Testament that God finds more faith in a heathen harlot in

an idolatrous city than was found many times in His own

covenant people.

Rahab must have known the Hebrew army had no

weapons capable of battering down the wall. She knew

they could invade her city only if their God, who parted

the Red Sea, intervened for them. During the week of

Israel's march she surely prayed, "O Lord God of Israel, I

26

Rahab

thank You and ask that when You knock down this wall,

my part of the wall will be spared." She came to a

conviction in her heart that her request was granted.

Her deliverance wasn't just a human agreement she

had made with men, but a pact she made with God. When

she hung that red rope out it was a symbol of the blood of

Christ. She was having faith in that red rope. Not only is

Israel going to see this red rope, and not come in the

house and kill me, but You, Lord God, are looking at my

faith as I hang this true token outside my window, and

when Your power hits this city, the wall where my house

is will still be standing. Sure enough, "the wall fell down

flat," but later Joshua said, "Go into the harlot's house." Thus

we reason according to Chapter 6:22 that this was the only

part of the wall that did not fall down. It was a divine

deliverance!

The power of God came upon that wall as the people

shouted with a shout. It wasn't the power of the vocal

shouting, it was the power of God in response to their cry

of faith that brought down the massive walls. It was faith

on the part of Israel that knocked down the wall, and it

was faith on the part of Rahab that her part of the wall

would stand unharmed. Hebrews 11:30 teaches that Israel

believed for the walls of Jericho to fall down. Verse 31

indicates that Rahab believed for her part of the wall to

stay up!

Joshua looked up at the small portion of the still-

standing wall and said, 'There's the house, go up and

bring out everything that is in there and save it alive." It

was a divine deliverance and portrayed such strong faith

27

And Thy House

in God that the Holy Spirit found it noteworthy to record

it. This harlot is mentioned right along with Abel, Enoch,

Noah, Abraham, Moses, Joseph and Samuel!

Not only was she saved, but in Joshua 6:23 we read:

"and all her kindred perished not." It was a contract between

a heathen harlot and the God of Israel, and He honored

her faith.

You may say, "I am not perfect righteousness." As a

believer, however, you have the righteousness of God in

Christ. Even as God honored Rahab's faith, so He will

honor your faith, and you can believe God to the saving of

all your kindred, your father, your mother, your brothers

and sisters and all that they have. God will do it for you,—

dare to believe He will save your whole house.

To show the far-reaching effect of Rahab's faith, let's

look at the rest of her story.

The first recognition given Rahab was that of faith, but

there is a second. She is spoken of as "the harlot Rahab,"

and usually when she is referred to, her occupation is

mentioned. God is showing us it is not by our works, but

by His grace, through faith, that we come to Him. Rahab

changed her occupation when she moved to Israel. Before

that she was living like the people in the heathen lands.

It was nothing unusual to be a harlot. This was an

honorable profession among the heathen. It was not

socially degrading for they had no morals and were

idolatrous.

Even in their temples they had prostitutes; it was

considered a thing of praise to their idols. But when the

28

Rahab

fear and faith of God came into her, and she was

redeemed according to the law, she began to live a godly,

holy life. Her faith did change her character later, but the

Holy Spirit reminds us that when her faith began she was

still "the HARLOT Rahab." Later she was ceremonially

redeemed and became part of the old covenant. Someone

redeemed her (in accordance to the Hebrew law of God

that a stranger could be joined to the Lord) and she was

married to a man named Salmon.

In the Matthew genealogy we read, "And Salmon begat

Booz [Boaz] of Rachab" (1:5). The new translations translate

Rachab as Rahab. When this heathen harlot got into the

land of Israel, she gained such favor that God allowed her

to marry a particular man who was in the lineage of

David, who was in the lineage of Jesus Christ. What an

honor! What a different title from "The harlot Rahab."

(Two heathen ladies made it into the genealogy of Christ"

Rahab and Ruth. They both did it by their faith, devotion

and obedience to the God of Israel.)

In the Book of Ruth we read of the genealogy from

another point of view. "Now these are the generations of

Pharez? Pharez begat Hezron, and Hezron begat Ram, and Ram

begat Amminadab, and Amminadab begat Nahshon, and

Nahshon begat Salmon" [it is inferred in Matthew 1:5 that

Salmon married Rahab], "and Salmon begat Boaz, and Boaz

begat Obed, and Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David" [Boaz

redeemed Ruth and married her and begat Obed, who

was David's grandfather]. And we could keep on with the

rest of the genealogy and end with "and David begat Jesus

Christ." Jesus was called "The Son of David." He is called

the "lion of the tribe of Judah." He is called "the root and

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And Thy House

offspring of David." Isn't it beautiful how this woman by

her faith became one of the ancestors of Jesus Christ?

It is a good thing to believe God to the saving of all

that you have. God honors such faith; He honored Rahab

twice in the inspired writing of the New Testament!

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Protection for Intercessors

7

In Ezekiel 22:30, 31 God is speaking at a time when He

poured out His indignation and His fury upon Judah,

... but before I did, I sought for a man that could stand in

the gap, and make up the hedge before me for the land that I

should not destroy it, but I found none. THEREFORE, have I

poured out my fury and my indignation upon them.

When judgment falls on your relatives it may be

because you did not intercede as God wanted you to. God

does not delight in the death of the wicked (Ezekiel 33:11).

If you will stand in the gap and make up the hedge before

Him He may withhold His judgment.

In Ezekiel, Chapter 9, God said that every intercessor

would be marked by the angel with a divine mark of

protection. An intercessor is one who pleads the case of

another, and if you are one who stands in the gap in

behalf of your lost husband, lost wife, or lost children,

God has promised that His angel has a special mark of

protection on you.

God is looking for intercessors.

In the Book of Job, Chapter 22, we are given an

example of how God can use intercessors.

The Spirit of God is speaking through Eliphaz (not all

of what Job's three friends said was wrong), and is stating

a CONDITION that must be met before God can use a

person to bring deliverance for another person. "If thou

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And Thy House

return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, thou shalt put

away iniquity far from thy tabernacles" (v. 23). We are to live

a holy life— "put away iniquity from your tabernacle."

When we meet the condition God gives many benefits.

From verse 24 to the end of the chapter we see the

PROVISION. The following are benefits received:

● receive gold and silver (vv. 24-25)

● have access to God with favor (v. 26)

● answered prayer (v. 27)

● make a confession and see it established unto you

(v. 28)

● light shining upon your ways (v. 28)

● encouraging the downcast (v. 29)

● LIFTING UP THOSE WHO ARE FALLEN (v. 29)

In the King James Version verse 30 reads: "He shall

deliver the island of the innocent: and it is delivered by the

pureness of thy hands." The Amplified Bible reads: "He will

even deliver the one [for whom you intercede] who is not

innocent: yes, he will be delivered through the cleanness of your

hands." Of course, it is by the goodness of God, but it will

come about through YOUR experience with God. Was this

not the case of Abraham and Lot? Lot wasn't innocent, yet

God delivered Lot through the CLEANNESS OF

ABRAHAM'S HANDS.

Through faith in the shed blood of Jesus, we believe

God will deliver the one for whom you intercede who is

NOT innocent.

To intercede does not literally mean to offer petitions

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Protection for Intercessors

for someone else, although it involves this. It means to GO

IN THE BEHALF OF ANOTHER, TO TAKE THE PLACE

OF ANOTHER. Abraham took Lot's place. Everything that

Lot received was through the cleanness of Abraham's

hands. We are to stand in behalf of the lost. We stand

before God and make up the hedge. Their hedge is broken

but we are to make it up. To us is given the imputed

righteousness through the shed blood of the Lamb. By

faith you cover them with the efficacious blood of Christ.

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It Is Well

8

The Shunammite woman in the Old Testament is an

example of an intercessor who dared to believe for life in

the very presence of death.

Elisha was a man on the go, and as he passed by the

home of the Shunammite woman, she noticed him and

asked her husband to build a room for the prophet so he

would have a private chamber available. Here the prophet

would rest from his journey, along with his servant,

Gehazi (2 Kings 4).

One day the prophet had his servant call the

Shunammite woman. As she stood before him, Gehazi

reminded Elisha that she was childless. "You will have a

son," said the prophet. The next year she had her little boy.

Thirteen years went by, and she enjoyed her reward

(4:17, 18). One day he was out in the field with his daddy.

“My head, my head," he cried, and fell to the earth.

His mother picked him up and carried him to the

house. But rather than putting him in his own room she

laid him on the prophet's bed. Then she fled to the

mountain where Elisha stayed. He saw her coming and

said, “Gehazi, the Shunammite woman is coming and she is

very troubled. The Lord has hidden it from me, and I don't

know what it is. Go to her and ask if it is well with her husband

and her child."

Gehazi asked, “Is it well... with the child?"

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And Thy House

“It is well," came her strange answer (v. 26).

A bit later when she came before Elisha she

acknowledged the boy was dead, but before others she

said, “All is well." She spoke this in faith.

You too can confess “all is well" for every member of

your family. As Christians we generally say, “Yes, my

husband is fine, BUT my boy has gone off into drugs, is in

the night clubs; pray for him. He is getting worse and

worse. He is straying more and more away from the Lord.

I'm afraid he'll die unsaved." When what we should speak

in faith is, “It is well. He is alive and well!"

You recall the ending of the Shunammite's story: the

boy was raised from the dead through the power of God

in the life of Elisha. God's Word promises YOU:

All thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great

shall be the peace of thy children. (Isaiah 54:13).

The promise is unto you, and to your children.... (Acts

2:39).

You can even claim your grandchildren:

The children of thy servants shall continue, and their seed

shall be established before thee. (Psalm 102:28).

Has rebellion and ungodliness in your children

brought you heartache?

Thus saith the Lord: Refrain thy voice from weeping and

thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the

Lord; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy...

thy children shall come again to their own border. (Jeremiah

31:16, 17).

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It Is Well

As intercessors we need to understand more of our

priestly functions. When Jesus ratified the new covenant,

He sprinkled His blood on the mercy seat in the heavenly

Holy of Holies and obtained an eternal redemption for us

(Hebrews 9:12). He has made us KINGS AND PRIESTS

(Revelation 1:5, 6).

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Kings and Priests

9

We are prone to think of Jesus as being only in heaven,

but He is also here as we are told in Colossians 1:27:

"Christ IN YOU, the hope of glory." "Jesus Christ is in you" (2

Corinthians 13:5).

When Jesus was teaching in the synagogue the scribes

and Pharisees said, "Why doth this man thus speak

blasphemies" after Jesus had said to the palsied man, "Son, thy

sins be forgiven thee" (Mark 2:1-12).

The scribes and Pharisees reasoned among themselves:

This man blasphemeth. Who can forgive sins but God alone.

Jesus knowing their thoughts said, "Whether is it easier to say

to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say,

Arise, and take up thy bed and walk? But that ye may know

that the Son of man hath power ON EARTH to forgive sins

(he saith to the sick of the palsy,] Arise, take up thy bed, and

go thy way into thine house" (vv. 9-11).

The high priest had a special function before God. "For

every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in

things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and

sacrifices for sins" (Hebrews 5:1). Jesus is our high priest,

and we know that He was ordained by God in things

pertaining to men to offer sacrifices for sin (Himself on the

cross). One day a year in Israel on the Day of Atonement

the high priest went into the HOLY OF HOLIES and

sprinkled the lamb's blood on the mercy seat and pushed

Israel's sins forward for another year (Leviticus 16).

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And Thy House

Almost every day of the year hundreds of other priests

would offer sacrifices in the OUTER COURT, and minister

in THE HOLY PLACE.

The high priest sprinkled the blood in the holy of

holies for the entire nation once each year, whereas the

other priests offered sacrifices for individuals throughout

the year.

First Peter 2:9 teaches that the believer is part of a

royal priesthood. The Old Testament priests offered seven

different kinds of sacrifices. One of these sacrifices was

"the burnt offering" and is fulfilled in the New Testament

as "THE SACRIFICE OF PRAISE" spoken of in Hebrews

13:15: "By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to

God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to

his name." They burned the fat of the calves or bullocks,

and this constituted the burnt offering. "THE FRUIT OF

OUR LIPS" is literally "the calves and bullocks of our lips."

God smelled the Old Testament burnt offerings and today

our praises ascend to Him as the smell of a sweet savour,

God hears prayer and "smells" praise.

Jesus, our high priest, offered Himself as the single sin

sacrifice for the world. "My little children, these things write

I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an

advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: and he is

the propitiation" [the atoning sacrifice] "for our sins: and not

for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world" (1 John

2:1-2). Just as the high priest offered the blood in the Holy

of Holies for the nation, Jesus presented His blood to the

Father for the sins of the world on the cross, and a short

time later took it to the Holy of Holies in heaven. He is the

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Kings and Priests

Lamb which takes away the sin of the world.

As (believer-priests) intercessors we can stand in the

gap and say, "Father, Jesus took their [our lost loved ones']

place, and I believe as He offered His blood to You for the

sin of the whole world I now claim the blood of Jesus for

my loved ones." Jesus rent the veil of the Holy of Holies in

two, which means every one can now go into the Holy of

Holies—the very presence of God—himself by the merit

of Christ's blood (Hebrews 10:19). We are to offer up the

blood to the Father to satisfy His legal demands for

righteousness.

Our intercessory prayers are often not answered

because all we have done is recite to God the lost person's

sinful spiritual condition. God is well aware of that! What

we should be doing is claiming the provisions of the

atonement in faith, for He has sent the Living Word to free

all from condemnation. For these and other reasons, our

priestly function should be that of the sacrifice of praise.

And our praise offering is accompanied with the faith

spoken of in Romans 4:17; we can call those things "which

be not as though they were."

We are to pattern ourselves after the great High Priest!

Jesus, the great High Priest, inaugurated through the

shedding of His blood the new covenant when He

sprinkled it on the Holy of Holies on the mercy seat in

heaven itself. He obtained an eternal redemption for us,

and now as priests, we are to offer up His blood in faith

for the sins of others. As priests, we have the legal right to

go to God not only to offer the sacrifice of praise (the

burnt offering), but offer up the sin offering as well:

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And Thy House

"Father, my loved one is in sin, but I offer up the shed

blood of Jesus in his behalf." Why do this? Because Jesus is

the propitiation for their sin. They may now refuse to

accept it, but not for long when once they are in their right

mind! The Gospel is hidden to them now because the god

of this world has blinded their eyes. When once they are

freed from Satan's influence and in their right mind they

will say, "Yes, I will take the remission of my sins so I

won't have to perish. Thank You, I appreciate that gift!"

As PRIESTS we have the authority to offer for their

sins before God the blood of Jesus, and as KINGS we have

the authority to bind the one who blinds their minds.

Matthew 16:18, 19 teaches that whatsoever you bind on

earth has already been bound in heaven, and whatsoever

you loose on earth has already been loosed in heaven (See

NASB.). We can bind the mind-blinder, Satan, who has

influenced our lost loved ones. It is the spirit of

disobedience that now works in the children of wrath. The

prince of the power of the air works in them (Ephesians

2:2). When we bind Satan on earth this transaction is

already recognized in heaven—then we can loose them to

the light of Christ. People who walk in darkness shall see

a great light (Isaiah 9:2). No one in his right mind is going

to resist that light. It is a natural instinct to turn toward

light.

The reason some people are not saved is because we

are not interceding correctly for them. We often hear this:

"Beloved, let's pray for them. We need to pray more for

them," followed by, "Oh Lord, bring them to repentance;

smite them with conviction." What we should do as

intercessors is take their place before God in praise and

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Kings and Priests

faith.

Jesus is my advocate. He takes my place before the

Father. When I sin I have an advocate with the Father, and

I confess, "Lord, I'm sorry for this sin," and Jesus takes my

place before the Father. God can't place wrath upon Him

again because He already laid His wrath upon Him at the

cross. Now He is in the place of His Father's full favor,

and His righteousness is imputed to my account.

Intercessors, in thinking of themselves in this way, are

not detracting from the glorious position of Jesus as king

and priest, for Jesus is not JUST a king and a priest. He is

KING of kings. He is the only HIGH PRIEST. I am a king

and a priest. It is through Him I reign and through Him I

sacrifice to God.

A PRIEST offers sacrifices. A KING reigns.

You can minister as a priest to God and say, "Father,

Jesus rent the veil and shed His blood for my lost loved

ones even as He did for me. I take this individual and

offer up to You the blood of Jesus for his sin. They are

guilty, but I hold up the righteousness of Christ in their

behalf. I plead the merits of Jesus' blood for my loved

ones."

A greatly misunderstood verse in John 20 sheds a light

on our duties as priests unto God.

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Whose Soever Sins Ye Remit

10

There is a principle given in John 20:23 that

substantiates what we have been teaching. In the past I've

confessed that I believed the whole Word of God, but

found this not to be the case, especially when I read this

verse. Former teachings from other groups tarnished this

Scripture for me. Much of God's Word has been misused

and misappropriated. We tend to throw out the baby

because the bath water gets dirty.

In John 20 we read of the first appearance of Jesus to

His disciples after the resurrection. He had already

appeared to the women earlier in the day, but to the

disciples He appeared in the evening of the first day.

To Mary He in essence said, "As the great high priest,

I'll have to take the blood into the Holy of Holies and

sprinkle it on the mercy seat in heaven, so don't touch me

yet, Mary" (based on John 20:17). Once begun on his

ceremony into the Holy of Holies, the high priest could

not be touched (Leviticus 16).

The same day at evening, He said to the disciples:

"Peace be to you." They were glad when they saw Him. In 1

John 1:1 we are given this concept of the disciples'

affirmation about Jesus: "that which we have seen with our

eyes. . and our hands have handled, of the Word of life." He

invited their touch then, and evidently this is when they

touched Him. After He had said, "Peace be to you," Jesus

"breathed on them" [many authorities say "in them, " or

45

And Thy House

"into them"] "and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost"

(John 20:22).

In 1 Corinthians 15:43-45 Paul gives a comparison

between the first Adam and the last Adam. The first

Adam became a living soul when he got his natural body,

and the last Adam (Jesus) became a quickening spirit, or

life-imparting spirit when He got His resurrected body. In

other words, the changed body He received when He was

raised from the dead.

Jesus forgave sins judicially before He went to the

cross, but He did not impart the new life into man's spirit

to give the new birth until after the new covenant had

gone into effect. That is what He did first to His disciples:

He breathed into them the Holy Spirit.

This paralleled what God did when He first made

man. He formed man out of the dust of the earth, breathed

into him the breath of life, and man became a living soul.

When He started the new order of man He breathed into

His disciples eternal life, and they became living spirits.

This is when the "new creation" took place (2 Corinthians

5:17). Of course, fifty days later they were baptized in the

Holy Ghost, but they were first born of the Spirit and did

receive the Holy Spirit in the sense that they were born of

God.

Following this, Jesus said to the disciples: " Whose

soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose

soever sins ye retain, they are retained" (John 20:23). This

verse is not speaking of personal offenses against you, as

you have no right to retain any of them. Traditionalists say

that this statement was simply declarative, but that it was

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Whose Soever Sins Ye Remit

not determinative. They contend that because a person

accepts Christ, we are to say, "Your sins are remitted."

And, because a person rejects Christ we would say, "Your

sins are retained."

However, we see examples in the Bible where sins

were retained and where sins were remitted in an actual

determinative way.

Where Sins Were Retained:

In Acts, Chapter 5: when Ananias and Sapphira came

before Peter, Ananias came first and Sapphira came three

hours later, and in both cases Peter retained their sin.

Peter said, "You have lied to the Holy Ghost," and then they

died. A divine discipline and a divine judgment came

upon them, and great fear came upon the people. People

should be afraid to lie to the Holy Ghost because of the

holy fear of God.

In Acts 13:10, 11: Paul retained the sin of Elymas the

sorcerer and blindness came upon him.

In 1 Corinthians 5:5: the Apostle Paul said to turn an

unrepentant fornicator over to Satan for the destruction of

the flesh. He was retaining that sin. According to 2

Corinthians 2 that erring brother repented and Paul said

to comfort and accept him and reaffirm love to him. When

the torments of Satan came he repented, got back under

the covenant protection, and his sins were remitted.

In 1 Timothy 1:20: Paul said of Hymenaeus and

Alexander: "Whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may

learn not to blaspheme." By retaining their sins, he was

allowing Satan to come against them.

47

And Thy House

Where Sins Were Forgiven:

In Acts 7 we see where sin was forgiven and it was

remitted unto them when Stephen, who was being stoned,

said as he sank to the earth, "Lord, I pray that this sin not be

laid to their charge." In the past I viewed this as nothing

more than a noble gesture, knowing, of course, that Jesus

taught we are not to have unforgiveness. Lately I've seen

Stephen's request as granted by heaven. I cannot say

unequivocally, but it does seem the sin of murder was not

laid on the stone-throwers' record. Stephen's request was

made after he looked up to heaven declaring, "I see Jesus

standing." Jesus, who had sat down at the Father's right

hand, now stood to welcome His servant home. He was

giving Stephen honor for being faithful to the end. Then

Stephen prayed, "Lord, let not this sin be laid to their charge."

The Lord honored his dying request. A few days later the

stone-throwers' coatholder (Saul of Tarsus) was

apprehended on the way to Damascus. Stephen's act of

forgiveness may have served as a catalyst to Paul's

conversion.

The Church has limited the power of forgiveness.

Jesus said, "Whose soever sins ye remit they are remitted unto

them." In that passage there is no hint that He is referring

to personal offenses committed against us. Of course, this

is effective only to your measure of faith. Jesus also taught

that we could throw literal mountains and trees into the

sea; however, I do not know anyone who has done that.

Still, I believe that is possible. James tells us that the

prayer of faith not only heals the sick, but also results in

forgiveness of any sin the sick believer may have

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Whose Soever Sins Ye Remit

committed (James 5:14, 15).

We can remit sin as fulfilling our priestly role. We can

intercede for our lost loved ones because of the merit of

Jesus' blood and the work of the Spirit. As a priest,

through Jesus our high priest, we can declare their sins

remitted. We have been acting as though we are trying to

get God to do something. We need to realize that He has

already done the "something" to take care of our family.

We have to operate on that truth, and we will see them

delivered, set free, and made alive in Christ Jesus.

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A Word From Pastor Benny Hinn

11

The Word of God declares in Matthew 18:19, “If two of

you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall

ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.”

I come into agreement with you today for the salvation

of all of your loved ones. Each one of them is extremely

precious to our loving Savior. The Lord Jesus longs for

each one of them to come to know Him and experience the

greatest miracle of all—salvation. John 3:16 declares “For

God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that

whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have

everlasting life." There is nothing your unsaved loved ones

have done that has destroyed our Father's love for them.

His love is far greater than any and all of their sins.

As you bow your head right now to pray this prayer of

agreement, recognize that all of heaven is in agreement

with you. The Holy Spirit is with you right now as you

pray. The Lord Jesus is our High Priest, our Intercessor,

who stands with us always in agreement as we come

before the throne of the Father.

The Word of God also declares in 1 John 5:14, 15: “And

this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask any

thing according to His will, He heareth us. And if we know that

he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the

petitions that we desired of Him.” It is God's will to save your

loved ones. You can have perfect confidence that He will

hear your prayer for them—and answer it!

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And Thy House

Now get ready to pray for your loved one's salvation.

52

A Special Prayer of Agreement

12

Heavenly Father, as a member of the New Covenant

priesthood, I now come to You through Jesus Christ, who is the

High Priest of my confession, in behalf of (speak his/her name)

whose mind has been blinded by the god of this world.

Holy Father, I come to You in, ___________'s stead

requesting that You will grant mercy and favor to (him/her).

(He/she) is not innocent, but because of the mighty atoning

work of the cross, I ask You to wash away (his/her) sins with the

power of your precious blood.

I take (his/her) place before You, standing in the gap, and

making up the hedge. I refuse, in the name of Jesus, to allow the

enemy to kill or destroy ____________. I declare that the god of

this age is bound, and his influence is broken in the life of

__________. No longer will (he/she) live under Satan's control.

Just as Lazarus was raised from death to new life, I come to

You on behalf of __________ and ask that You raise them from

spiritual death to eternal life. I thank you, Father, that soon

(he/she) will come forth into newness of life. (He/she) will come

out of darkness and into light, out of sin and into righteousness,

out of rebellion and into submission, out of hardness and into

brokenness. I thank you, Lord Jesus, that the true light of your

love is now shining upon __________. I ask You to send forth

laborers to lead (him/her) to salvation.

Father, I put You in remembrance and plead my case, in

Jesus' name. You have promised, "Believe in the Lord Jesus

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And Thy House

Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." My sons and

my daughters shall prophesy. My husband/wife is sanctified

through my faith in You. All my children are the Lord's

disciples and great is their peace. It is well with my family.

AMEN!

54

Document Outline

- And Thy House - Your Family Can Be Saved

- Contents

- Foreword

- The Mind Blinder

- And Thy House

- Noah

- Abraham and Lot

- I Sought For a Man

- Rahab

- Protection for Intercessors

- It Is Well

- Kings and Priests

- Whose Soever Sins Ye Remit

- Where Sins Were Retained:

- Where Sins Were Forgiven:

- A Word From Pastor Benny Hinn

- A Special Prayer of Agreement

Table of Contents

Foreword

The Mind Blinder

And Thy House

Noah

Abraham and Lot

I Sought For a Man

Rahab

Protection for Intercessors

It Is Well

Kings and Priests

Whose Soever Sins Ye Remit

A Word From Pastor Benny Hinn

A Special Prayer of Agreement

r,1

And Thy House - Your Family Can Be Saved

Contents

Where Sins Were Retained:

Where Sins Were Forgiven: