Praying for God's Purpose to be fulfilled includes Intercession and Spiritual Warfare.
Intercession
To Intercede means to Go Between. One who is making Intercession stands between God and a person, between God and a family, between God and a group, between God and the Church, or between God and the Nation. The Intercessor comes before God having accurate knowledge of the condition of the person, family, group, nation, the Church on whose behalf he approaches God.
The Intercessor comes to God Asking that the condition of the person, family, group, nation, or Church be changed. He comes to God In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and standing on the Word of God. Jesus said, "Whatsoever you ask the Father in My Name, He will do it..." He asks with the faith of God that is in him; the faith to which nothing is impossible.
So then, in making intercession for the Church, we are doing so because we have accurate knowledge of the condition of the Church. God has revealed that condition. Only God can change the existing condition of the Church. We ask God to change the existing condition. We also know God's revelation concerning the Church; what He requires the Church to be; and what He wants the Church to be doing.
Intercessors go before God, acknowledging, confession, and repenting of the sins of the Church. They take the sins of the Church upon themselves, seeking God's forgivness, and asking God to change the situation in the Church, and to make the Church to be what He wants it to be. They do not stop making intercession until God shows up and does even more they can ask or think. God will sometimes test their faith by taking a long time before He answers. But He will answer, if they faint not.
An important topic for intercession is for God to Raise Up A Man for the Hour. If you look at great movements in the history of the Church, even back to the Old Testament, God always Raises up A Man for the Time. When God took Ezekiel to the Valley of Dry Bones, He told Ezekiel to 'Speak to those bones......' Then the Lord said, 'Prophesy to the wind....and say to the wind, Come from the four winds, O Breath, and breathe upon these slain that they may live. So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.'
It is by the Word and the Spirit as God commanded that a valley of dry bones became 'An Exceeding Great Army.' But God had to have a Man to speak His word. So Intercessors must Pray God to Raise up A Man for the Hour to Speak His Word, and Call for the Spirit to give life to His people, and to Raise up His People, An Exceeding Great Army.
Spiritual Warfare
The next major aspect of prayer for God's Remnant, is Spiritual Warfare. God has an enemy. The Church has an enemy. The Christian Believer has an enemy. The aim of this enemy to destroy God's Purpose. In Spiritual Warfare, Christian Believers seek to destroy the plans and strategies of the enemy, Satan, the Devil, or whatever name we care to give him.
God has raised up Jesus Christ to His right hand, far above all principalities, and powers, and dominions, and names, and has put all things under His feet. God has also raised up Christian believers with Jesus Christ, and has made them to sit with Him in heavenly places, thereby putting under their feet those things which are under the feet of Jesus. Christian believers can do all things through Christ who strengthens them. They have faith to overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil. They have weapons which are not carnal, but are mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. They have power to bind and to loose.
Christian Believers, have been placed in a position; they have been given weapons; they have been given God's own armour; they have been given power and authority; they have been given the faith of God, and all that is necessary to defeat the enemy, to protect those who are in danger; to fight against the powers of Satan over the nations; to break down satanic strongholds; to do the works that Christ did, and greater works; to fight a successful warfare over satan's kingdom, and to release captives, and set those in bondage free.
The enemies of the Church and the Nations are not just human beings, human institutions, human technologies, and humans who have sold themselves out to the devil. Christian Believers must also do spiritual warfare in the heavenlies. The reason for this is that Satan assigns evil spiritual beings over nations to influence, and control national leaders, national governments, so that the whole nation comes under the influence of satanic powers.
In the time of Daniel, the satanic being over the Persian empire was called 'the Prince of Persia.' This was not the actual human ruler of the Persian Empire, but a Satanic being assigned by the devil to have control over the human ruler, and the government. Satan assigns his satanic princes over every nation. If the Christian believers do not engage in warfare with those satanic princes, and call for the assistance of heavenly angels, then Satan will have his way in the nation, and we will not be in a position to criticise national leaders and govenrments. Woe be unto the nation if Christian in that nation fail in their duty to pray for those in authority.
The enemies of Christ and the Church are in the church itself today, and their number is increasing. They are there to hinder in every way possible, the growth of the church. church. They are perhaps the biggest cause in the continuing decline of churches today. They oppose evangelism; they oppose revival; they misinterpret the Scripture; they are famous for their use of deception and lying; they are after money, position, and power. In all of this they give the impression that they are genuine. They are perhaps, they most dangerous force operating in the church andnagainst the church today. It will take warfare of no small proportion to defeat them.
If we want to see God Intervene; Raise up His Church as An Exceeding Great Army, we will have to engage in unceasing Intercession and Spiritual Warfare. Let us understand that there is no one else who can do it. "The world itself stands by the Prayes of the Christians."
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Resurrection of the Church.
No one can tell God How to proceed in carrying out His Purpose. The How belongs to God, unless God Himself reveals it.
The First Major Part of the Vision for the Transformation of the Nations is the Resurrection of the Church. Has God revealed anything in His Word about Him Raising Up His people, The Church, for Transforming the Nations of this world into the Kingdom of God? The Answer is Yes, He Has. Here are some passages of Scripture. 2 Chron. 6, 7; Ez. 37; Rev. 2, 3; Is. 59, 60; Eph. 1: 15-23; 2: 3-7; Jn. 14:10-14; Lk. 10: 19; 11:22.
Unceasing Prayer
God's Remnant in the earth Must Give themselves to Unceasing Prayer. God does have a remnant in the earth. In every nation, in every community wherever the Church has been planted, a remnant remains. A Great responsibility rests on this remnant.
The greatTertullian said to the Roman Emperor of his day, "The world itself stands by the prayers of the Christians." This is particullarly true of God's Remnant. They are the ones whom God will hear, and to whose prayers He will respond. So when the Church becomes a valley of dry bones, God's remnant must cry out to Him unceasingly. The remnant could be One.
The prayers of the Remnant must be informed by the state of God's people as God Himself sees it. It must include Mighty Intercession for God to intervene to manifest His purpose. It must taken account of the fact that Satan weakens churches and nations, and that therefore they must engage in spiritual warfare of the highest order to defeat the enemy, and move him out of the way so that God's kingdom may come and His will be done.
A frequently quoted Scripture is 2 Chronicles 7: 14. God's people must Humble themselves. This is a challenge. When we look at churches today, humility does not seem to be a general characteristic, especially among the leadership of churches. The opposite seems to be the case, Pride, Self Elevation, self Agrandisement, and Haughtiness, the very things that God hates. We must first Humble Ourselves before we can Pray.
Then, and here is another difficult thing. We Must Turn from our wicked ways. In other words, we must Repent. We are familiar with the letters to the Seven churches inRev. 2 and 3. The Lord Himself was moving among the Churches. He knew what their condition was in each case. Each letter is written to 'The Angel of the Church.'
Who is that? Is that the writer's way of referring to the pastor, or the bishop, or the apostle? Who ever he is, the letter is written to him, and the condition described in the letter refers to him. It is singular all along.
The leaders of two of the churches meet with the Lord's approval. The leaders of the other five do not. The Lord has something against him, the angel of the church. Then, the Lord calls on the angel of each of those five churches to Repent. Turn from his wicked ways. The whole church needs to repent. But according to these letters, Repentance must start with the Leaders.
So then, we have two major conditions necessary for a church to be Raised Up
Resurrected to Newness of Life. There must be humility, ans there must be Repentance, wholehearted turning away from sin, and turning to God. No church, and no individual in any church is going to be Raised Up if these conditions are not met. Ask why is it that many churches in our time are not experiencing the Resurrection power of God. Because the people, especially the leadership refuse to humble themselves, and because they refuse to repent.
Church people who refuse to humble themselves before God, and who refuse to repent, are deceiving themselves. They are saying, "I am O.K." "I am righteous." If they continue long enough in this deception, they will become blind, and we will end uo with the blind leading the blind. Both will fall into the pit. We cannot truly pray if we are unwilling to be humble and to repent. It is those who Humble Themselves and Repent that the Lord will Raise Up As His New People.
The First Major Part of the Vision for the Transformation of the Nations is the Resurrection of the Church. Has God revealed anything in His Word about Him Raising Up His people, The Church, for Transforming the Nations of this world into the Kingdom of God? The Answer is Yes, He Has. Here are some passages of Scripture. 2 Chron. 6, 7; Ez. 37; Rev. 2, 3; Is. 59, 60; Eph. 1: 15-23; 2: 3-7; Jn. 14:10-14; Lk. 10: 19; 11:22.
Unceasing Prayer
God's Remnant in the earth Must Give themselves to Unceasing Prayer. God does have a remnant in the earth. In every nation, in every community wherever the Church has been planted, a remnant remains. A Great responsibility rests on this remnant.
The greatTertullian said to the Roman Emperor of his day, "The world itself stands by the prayers of the Christians." This is particullarly true of God's Remnant. They are the ones whom God will hear, and to whose prayers He will respond. So when the Church becomes a valley of dry bones, God's remnant must cry out to Him unceasingly. The remnant could be One.
The prayers of the Remnant must be informed by the state of God's people as God Himself sees it. It must include Mighty Intercession for God to intervene to manifest His purpose. It must taken account of the fact that Satan weakens churches and nations, and that therefore they must engage in spiritual warfare of the highest order to defeat the enemy, and move him out of the way so that God's kingdom may come and His will be done.
A frequently quoted Scripture is 2 Chronicles 7: 14. God's people must Humble themselves. This is a challenge. When we look at churches today, humility does not seem to be a general characteristic, especially among the leadership of churches. The opposite seems to be the case, Pride, Self Elevation, self Agrandisement, and Haughtiness, the very things that God hates. We must first Humble Ourselves before we can Pray.
Then, and here is another difficult thing. We Must Turn from our wicked ways. In other words, we must Repent. We are familiar with the letters to the Seven churches inRev. 2 and 3. The Lord Himself was moving among the Churches. He knew what their condition was in each case. Each letter is written to 'The Angel of the Church.'
Who is that? Is that the writer's way of referring to the pastor, or the bishop, or the apostle? Who ever he is, the letter is written to him, and the condition described in the letter refers to him. It is singular all along.
The leaders of two of the churches meet with the Lord's approval. The leaders of the other five do not. The Lord has something against him, the angel of the church. Then, the Lord calls on the angel of each of those five churches to Repent. Turn from his wicked ways. The whole church needs to repent. But according to these letters, Repentance must start with the Leaders.
So then, we have two major conditions necessary for a church to be Raised Up
Resurrected to Newness of Life. There must be humility, ans there must be Repentance, wholehearted turning away from sin, and turning to God. No church, and no individual in any church is going to be Raised Up if these conditions are not met. Ask why is it that many churches in our time are not experiencing the Resurrection power of God. Because the people, especially the leadership refuse to humble themselves, and because they refuse to repent.
Church people who refuse to humble themselves before God, and who refuse to repent, are deceiving themselves. They are saying, "I am O.K." "I am righteous." If they continue long enough in this deception, they will become blind, and we will end uo with the blind leading the blind. Both will fall into the pit. We cannot truly pray if we are unwilling to be humble and to repent. It is those who Humble Themselves and Repent that the Lord will Raise Up As His New People.
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