The Gift of Intercession
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
One of the most subtle burdens God ever puts on us as saints is this burden of discernment concerning other souls. He reveals things in order that we may take the burden of these souls before Him and form the mind of Christ about them. It is not that we bring God into touch with our minds, but that we rouse ourselves until God is able to convey His mind to us about the one for whom we intercede. - Oswald Chambers
FOR MANY of us, prayer is like the National Anthem before a football game. It gets the game started, but simply has no connection with what’s happening on the field. It’s a courtesy.706
Many of us intercede for those in our lives as a mere courtesy of going through the motions like a good Christian does, and then make a lot of nice like we do at a football game hoping to affect the outcome
If we truly desire to see God move, we need to stop treating prayer like a courtesy, and treat it like a powerful weapon
Started treating it like it truly is connected in what is going on in the fields of life and let it guide our vision to the plans of God so as we intercede we can go out not making a bunch of noise but delivering God filled words
Read 1 Kings 1:11-27.
One thing beautiful about the Old Testament is the foreshadowing we see in how different stories foreshadow our relationship with Christ. This morning we see Bathsheba paint a picture of how we are to go to the king with our needs with an expectation something happens
Like Bathsheba we are the bride of the king have special access to Him
Revelation of a Need
Revelation of a Need
Divine revelation through a man of God
The word advice in verse 12 carries with it the meaning of God’s plan
Bathsheba was made aware of a need through a man of God. a threat was made known to her and she was given God’s plan to fix things, intercession
You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.
Like Bathsheba though we must listen, she could have chose to ignore Nathan, and their could have been grave consequences if she had chose to ignore or fix things by her own power
Why does God reveal?
So we may minister to one another in need, but do it with God’s mind, not our own
We are not called to live in solitude
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.
Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.
In fact we are called to live in community in servitude
I tell people all the time when seeking a church it is not about how can the church best meet your needs, but how can you best serve in the community of believers
How to hear God reveal?
be intentional about getting alone
Get silent
Listen
As God reveals pray
Our intercessory prayer makes a difference
One we get to experience God because our eyes are focused as they should be
Two we are spared consequences of disobedience
Thirdly others may be showed grace for our obedience and our pleading on their behalf
But Moses implored the Lord his God and said, “O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your burning anger and relent from this disaster against your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.’ ” And the Lord relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people.
God has a need in someone’s life that he desires for you to intercede on behalf of
Intercession
Intercession
We keep using the term intercession, let us pause for a moment to talk about what it means. it is to intercede on behalf of someone else, in particular this morning we are talking about praying on behalf of someone else
As we continue through this mornings text we see Bathsheba go intercede for Solomon before the king
If you are like me you are going why did Bathsheba have to go, Solomon was perfectly capable of doing so
The only answer I can give you is that it was not God’s plan for Solomon to intercede for himself or else Nathan would have went to him
Do we always intercede for ourselves as we should?
How do we use that blessed access? one way is intercession
How do we go the Lord in intercessory prayer?
1. Go with a heart of worship and gratitude
Start prayer off with worship and thanks
2. Go humbly before the Lord
this recognizes your full dependence on him
go humbly also means come first before him confessing your sins, allowing him to straighten you out
Remove hindrances from your prayer life
Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
Hinderances:
Sin- makes you unrighteous
Wrong Motives- Acts 8:21
You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God.
Broken Relationships- 1 Peter 3:7
Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.
Unbelief- Mark 11:24
Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
3. Go with scripture
Bathsheba reminds David here of his words, at times in scripture we see in prayer, God’s words being prayed to him
this allows you to go spirit led and not heart led as you keep your eyes focused
4. Go and pray for them by name with intentionality to be heard
Plead on their behalf
Plead like you truly mean it, that it is not going through the motions
As you go through these steps it will help you focus a godly mind to see God’s will for others life, remember it is hard enough figuring out his will for ours
Intercession in Community
Intercession in Community
We see Nathan come in to intercede too on behalf of Solomon
This reminds us the importance of community, we are not only to live together, but pray together. to carry one another burdens
Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
We all need prayer partners
Find a spiritual leader/mentor to pray with you
One that you are sure they are righteous
Two so that your vision can be kept focused
Thirdly you may not be in a righteous season
Outroduction
Outroduction
This morning who do you need to pray for?
This morning who do you need to pray for and then just sit and listen?
Who do you need to grab this morning to come pray with you?
