Intercession

When I was a child I wanted a puppy. Pretty much all my life I wanted to have a dog. When we lived in Royalton we had a neighbourhood dog. By that I mean it belonged to a neighbour but spent most of it’s time at our place. Probably because we had rabbits, I don’t know, but I assumed at the time it was because he or she, I was pretty young at the time and never thought to check that out, but I assumed the dog came because it loved me. I begged my parents to let me keep it. Oh there were lots of excuses as to why we couldn’t. My favourite was it belonged to someone else. Big deal he obviously likes us more. I called him Alf. Not sure what his name actually was, or again if he was indeed a he, what I do know was Alf probably had a serious identity crisis, who knows how many names Alf had, some less friendly than others I would dare to guess. Alf was the perfect dog, because he wasn’t our dog I got all the affection of a dog without any of the responsibility.

Well I did teach him not chase cars. I simply told him if he chases cars he won’t like it if he catches one. Apparently no one had told him that before because that is all it took to keep him from chasing cars.

Maybe it was because I showed just how good a trainer I could be but my parents eventually caved to my begging for my own dog. Buddy. All I really remember about Buddy is my sister Lori got made at him for peeing on the floor went to kick him missed, hit the dryer and broke her toe. It was hysterical. That is all I remember of Buddy. To this day I have no idea what happen to him. I am hoping he went to the sail barn, and ultimately a good home. One thing is for certain, he is not alive today.

From Royalton we moved to Blacks Harbour. Which is why I think buddy had to go, also he chewed everything and refused to be house broken. Alf was way easier to train. My desire to have my own dog didn’t go away however. I continued to beg for a dog. I was relentless, until one day we went to the pound in Saint John, and that is where I met buddy 2. I was very creative with my names.

Buddy 2 was a terror. Friendly, and fun, but if we thought buddy 1 liked to chew things, that was nothing compared to Buddy 2. Socks, shoes, underwear. I’m pretty sure Buddy 2 was part billy goat. I suppose it was my fault for naming him buddy 2, of course he was going to be twice as worse as buddy 1. Buddy 2 went to a family who occasionally attended the church. He moved out to the country because the big metropolis of Blacks Harbour was too much for him. After my second failed attempt of being a doggy daddy, my parents brought home a cat.

KC it stood for Kitty Cat. I told you very creative with names. I am not a cat person, but I did like KC, he came from the McCain dump, and He was tough. More dog than cat I’m pretty sure. In fact one time at Beulah when they first lifted the ban on pets KC was tied to the deck eating his food when a law breaking dog off his lease came up and start to eat KC’s food. The dog was five times his size but went whimpering home with a bloody nose.

So once I knew KC could stand up to a dog, what do you suppose I did? Obviously I restarted my campaign for another dog. By this time I had my own paper route and had managed to save up some money. My begging/negotiating had grown more sophisticated, offering to pay for the dog myself. I even bought a book on how to train a dog and promised this one would not be a Buddy 3.

Max was an english springer spaniel. A beautiful, and smart dog I actually was able to train. Sit lay down and role over, exclusively in that order and without variation but still.

Max was put down because our neighbours would call him over to the fence and when he would jump up they would hit him. For that reason he did not like strangers, to perfectly honest, I wasn’t a huge fan myself. Eventually he became so hostile to people on the property we had to put him down.

So I convinced my mom to get Pepsi. More of a dust bunny than a dog, and all was well until Pepsi started chasing birds. By birds I mean my uncles Rhea. So Pepsi went to a wonderful home up on Curtis hill.

Friheight which is German for freedom was a black lab she to was wonderful, until she started chasing cattle.

When we went to Havelock just my wife myself and Azlee. That’s right there was a time when we just had one kid. My longing to own a dog was still there. But this time it was not my parents I had to convince, it was my wife and the Board of the church who really didn’t want pets in the parsonage. So I mustered up all my courage and at a board meeting I asked them if there was anyway they would consider changing that rule. Long story short, most of you have met Reese and her son Dief, short for Diefenbaker, named after the wolf in due south not the former Prime Minister.

Well as much fun as I have had telling you about my dog journey there is a point to all this. Every time in my life when I wanted a dog I had an obstacle to face. I had to convince someone or a group of someones to let me have one. It was almost as if I was interceding for them just to get them in the house.

You know what interceding is don’t you?

intercede means to come or go between.

Merriam-Webster, I. (2003). Merriam-Webster’s collegiate dictionary. (Eleventh ed.). Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, Inc.

All my life I have found myself having to stand between the gap of the the dogs I wanted and loved, and people who did not want them.

Honestly Interceding is tiring and often questions of, “is it worth it” spring up. At least when you are interceding for animals, but what happens when you find yourself in the position that you have to intercede for people?

Have you ever had to stand in the gap in an attempt to bring two people together, or groups of people?

The truth is as Christians we find ourself in that place often don’t we? How many people do you know whom God loves but they want nothing to do with God?

Do you ever feel like sometimes you are stuck in the middle pleading with them for God, and pleading to God for them?

Welcome to the world of intercession. Standing in the Gap between God and man. What does it look like you ask?

Thanks for asking because I wasn’t quite sure how to transition into that. What it looks like is you begging your loved ones to give God a chance. To abandon their misconceptions about Him and the lies they have heard about Him and experience Him for themselves.

But it also involves us begging God for more time doesn’t it? No for us, but for them. Because we know that one day they will die, or Jesus will return. Whichever happens first this we know, If they do not have a relationship with Jesus by that day it will be too late. And so we beg God to give them more time, another chance, so we can beg them to reconsider their choice to reject God.

When I think about that, I think interceding for a puppy was easy. Even all those times I had to beg my parents to give Buddy and Buddy 2 a 2nd and 3rd and 150th chance.

But Interceding for people is hard and it requires something very important. And that is what I want to talk to you about today.

The question I want to try and answer is...

What does it take to intercede for others?

To answer this I want to look at Genesis 18:16-33

Genesis 18:16–33 NLT

Then the men got up from their meal and looked out toward Sodom. As they left, Abraham went with them to send them on their way. “Should I hide my plan from Abraham?” the Lord asked. “For Abraham will certainly become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him. I have singled him out so that he will direct his sons and their families to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just. Then I will do for Abraham all that I have promised.” So the Lord told Abraham, “I have heard a great outcry from Sodom and Gomorrah, because their sin is so flagrant. I am going down to see if their actions are as wicked as I have heard. If not, I want to know.” The other men turned and headed toward Sodom, but the Lord remained with Abraham. Abraham approached him and said, “Will you sweep away both the righteous and the wicked? Suppose you find fifty righteous people living there in the city—will you still sweep it away and not spare it for their sakes? Surely you wouldn’t do such a thing, destroying the righteous along with the wicked. Why, you would be treating the righteous and the wicked exactly the same! Surely you wouldn’t do that! Should not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?” And the Lord replied, “If I find fifty righteous people in Sodom, I will spare the entire city for their sake.” Then Abraham spoke again. “Since I have begun, let me speak further to my Lord, even though I am but dust and ashes. Suppose there are only forty-five righteous people rather than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And the Lord said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five righteous people there.” Then Abraham pressed his request further. “Suppose there are only forty?” And the Lord replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the forty.” “Please don’t be angry, my Lord,” Abraham pleaded. “Let me speak—suppose only thirty righteous people are found?” And the Lord replied, “I will not destroy it if I find thirty.” Then Abraham said, “Since I have dared to speak to the Lord, let me continue—suppose there are only twenty?” And the Lord replied, “Then I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty.” Finally, Abraham said, “Lord, please don’t be angry with me if I speak one more time. Suppose only ten are found there?” And the Lord replied, “Then I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.” When the Lord had finished his conversation with Abraham, he went on his way, and Abraham returned to his tent.

Genesis

Boldness

Me: In high school I had a friend, for the purpose we will call him Sal to protect his identity. Sal liked a girl a lot, and was spending a great deal of time trying to woo said girl. This upset another guy in the school who also liked said girl. Today I call this teenage drama or Trauma for short. So the other guy got a bunch of guys together to threaten Sal. So Sal came to me? What do I do? He asked. I knew Sal really liked this girl and regardless that was not the point. Civilized people don’t form gangs to scare other guys off so I told Sal I had his back. Just than a messenger representing the group came to give the daily threat. I remember literally standing and placing myself between Sal and this thug, knowing I was figuratively placing myself between Sal and a group of thugs and I kindly yet persuasively asked him to rely a message back to the group that i would be standing between them and Sal. Thankfully nothing came of it. Apparently I was scarier than I thought. But afterword I thought Am I brave or stupid my conclusion, I was bold, which allowed me to be a little bit of both.

We: When we stand between God and our loved ones it requires a lot of boldness doesn’t it. Sometimes those conversations are really hard to start, and our only option is to boldly ask about their relationship with God. Than there is the approach to the throne room of God. Honestly there are some who do not realize not just how honoured we are to be able to talk to God, but just how much boldness it requires to ask God to put up with sin longer. Because that is what we are asking Him isn’t it?

God: When Abraham Interceded for Sodom and

Gomorrah, he did so with great reverence didn’t he. 6 Times he changed the equation, from 50 righteous all the way down to 10, each time requiring just a bit more boldness than the previous time. Abraham appealed to God’s justice. So where did Abraham acquire such boldness yo might ask? It was because Abraham had family that would be destroyed otherwise. Lot and his family lived in Sodom. If you read the rest of the story you will note that God heard the essence of Abrahams plea and spares Lot and his daughters. his wife on the other had became the salt of the earth, by that I mean she was turned to salt for looking back.

You: Ok so what does this mean for you? What I want you to understand today is if you are going to stand in the gap between God and your loved ones, it will require boldness, both when talking to them, as well as when talking to God. But that boldness comes from knowing if you don’t, loved ones will be swept away with the destruction of the earth.

We: We don’t know when Christ will return, nor do we know what day will be our last but this we can know with boldness we can approach both God and loved one, begging our loved ones to stop rejecting God and accept Him and begging God to give them more time. Will everyone be saved? The bible says no, but let us continue to stand in the gap with boldness, that some might hear and be saved.

Next Step

First if you have come today and you are still running from God, or you, are wrestling with whether you will accept that Jesus died for you so that you could be saved, can I just take this moment and beg you to say yes to God.

Say yes God I believe, Yes God, I want to be saved and say Yes God I want to have a relationship with you. That is where it starts, from there God will come along side and help you as you strive to live life His way.

Now for the rest of you who have already taken that step, I am going to ask you to boldly stand as I pray for our loved ones who choose to reject God, I ask that you would stand in the gap and you would even now intercede on you loved ones behalf, asking God to give them yet another chance to hear the truth. Ask that their hearts would be receptive and that their lives would be changed.

So if you are a Christian and you have someone or someones you are interceding for I am going to count to three, when I say three I want you to boldly stand, symbolizing you are standing in the gap.

If you would like to bring that person or persons to the alter please feel free.

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