““I looked for someone who might rebuild the wall of righteousness that guards the land. I searched for someone to stand in the gap in the wall so I wouldn’t have to destroy the land, but I found no one.” Ezekiel 22:30 NLT
This verse is both challenging and sad to me. It challenging to me because I know that God has called me to be an intercessor. It is sad to me because there are so few true intercessors today. People want to be entertained, fed and occupied but few people want to gut it out in prayer and intercession with the Lord.
I pray that this blog today would stir up intercession within the body of Christ and especially at New Life Chapel.
In Genesis 18, we see Abraham interceding for Sodom which was due for destruction because of her sins. Because of Abraham’s intercession, God was willing to spare Sodom if Abraham could find 10 righteous people there.
From this passage, you will find 6 marks of an intercessor.
1. INTERCESSORS ARE THE FIRST TO GET THE NEWS
Genesis 18:17 And God said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing ?”
God did not want to destroy Sodom without letting Abraham know about it first. We find this to be a Biblical pattern. God often informs the people seeking Him what he intends to do.
Psalm 25:14 The secrets of the Lord are with those who fear Him.
Amos 3:7 Surely the Lord does nothing unless He reveals the secrets to his servants the prophets.
It is comforting to know that God will reveal His plans or judgements to those seeking Him. This give intercessors a chance to plead for God’s mercy on behalf of the people.
SOME PEOPLE MAKE THINGS HAPPEN. SOME SEE THINGS HAPPEN. OTHERS ARE STILL ASKING “WHAT HAPPENED ?”
2. INTERCESSORS STAND IN THE GAP BEFORE GOD
Genesis 18:22b …but Abraham still stood before God.
God is looking for people to stand before Him and intercede for the sins of nation. In Eze 22, we see God specifically looking for intercessors.
Ezekiel 22:30 “So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land that I should not destroy it. But I found none”
Ezekiel 22 has a sad ending. God was searching for an intercessor to stand before Him but found none. So God’s judgement was poured out because there was no intercessor. An intercessor has the ability to delay or stop the judgement of God when he stands in the gap.
PRAYERS CAN’T BE ANSWERED UNLESS THEY ARE OFFERED!
3. INTERCESSORS CONTINUE TO STAND IN THE GAP EVEN AFTER JUDGEMENT IS PASSED
Genesis 18:22 Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord.
The angels were already heading towards Sodom to destroy it. But Abraham still stood before the Lord. He lived in hope that God’s mercy would spare the people. He persevered. Intercessors persevere even after judgement is passed.
THERE ARE 4 STEPS TO ACCOMPLISHMENT. PLAN PURPOSEFULLY. PREPARE PRAYERFULLY. PROCEED POSITIVELY AND PURSUE PERSISTENTLY.
4. INTERCESSORS UNDERSTAND GOD’S CHARACTER
If you were an intercessor and wanted God to spare the city, what angle would you approach God from ? Abraham was a smart man. He knew God’s character. God would not destroy the righteous with the wicked
Genesis 18:23 Would you also destroy the righteous with the wicked ?”
Genesis 18:25 “Shall not the judge of all the earth do right”
Abraham understood that God was a righteous God and will do right. He approached God from this angle.
5. INTERCESSORS UNDERSTAND GOD’S ABOUNDING GRACE
Abraham looks in every way like a good business man. He negotiates for God’s mercy. Below, we see the number of people he must find for God to spare the city.
V24 – 50 people
V28 – 45 people
V29 – 40 people
V30 – 30 people
V31 – 20 people
V32 – 10 people
It looks like God gave him a big discount for the number of righteous people. He got a 99.99999 % discount from God. How many of us will even think of asking God to spare the whole city if there were only 10 people righteous ? But Abraham did and God agreed. HE was a great negotiator because he understood God’s character.
Abraham knew that God was a merciful and gracious God and dared to ask.
6. INTERCESSORS KNOW THE LIMIT OF GOD’S PATIENCE
Genesis 18:33 So the Lord went His way as soon as He had finish speaking with Abraham and Abraham returned to his place.
We see God went His way as soon as He had finished speaking. This means that Abraham’s request had reached the limit. If God continued to speak to Abraham, Abraham may have asked for God to spare Sodom for 5 people. But the Lord went away.
There comes a time when the mercy of God ceases and He has to release the judgement. There is limit to God’s mercy and intercessors know this limit. Abraham returned to his own place.
What an example of intercession we can see in Abraham ‘s life. It is a good model for us to follow.
Will you be an intercessor and stand before God over your family, your church, our city, and our nation?
Original outline by Pastor Wah Lok NG
No comments:
Post a Comment