Session 7 Releasing God s Power Through Intercession

Transcription

1 INTERNATIONAL HOUSE OF PRAYER UNIVERSITY MIKE BICKLE GROWING IN PRAYER (PART 1) Session 7 Releasing God s Power Through Intercession I. THE MAJESTY AND MYSTERY OF INTERCESSION: AGREEMENT WITH GOD We are talking about growing in prayer. Tonight we are going to talk about releasing God s power through intercession. You don t only engage in intercession at an intercessory prayer meeting. You can engage in intercession and release the power of God when you are driving your car, when you are taking a walk, when you are having a family time, when you are with friends. Any time we speak the word of God in the will of God, and we speak it with faith, it releases the power of God whether we can measure that power or not. Sometimes we can measure it, and it is observable right there. John said, in 1 John 5, that this is the confidence we have, that if we are speaking a prayer in the will of God, He hears us. We have that confidence. In other words, there is a response. There is an approval from heaven. Over time or sometimes instantly we see that response of God manifested. A. Intercessory worship is the primary means by which God has chosen to release His power on earth in this age and in the age to come. In this, God s people express their agreement with the Lord. In worship we agree with who He is, and in intercession we agree with what He promised to do. 23 The true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. (Jn. 4:23) Intercessory worship is the primary means, not the only means, but the primary means that God has chosen to release His power into the earthly realm. That is a big statement. Intercessory worship I am putting the two together because some people focus on worship and some people focus on intercession. In reality they ascend before God as one big reality together. We will look at that in a moment is the primary means to release the power of God in the earthly realm. That is a huge statement. Because we all love the power of God and want to experience it more, the Scripture says, Here is the way. In John 4, Jesus explained, for all intents and purposes Let Me tell you something about My Father that I know that you do not know. I know My Father well. He is seeking for worshipers. God is not looking for adoration because He feels rejected. That is not what Jesus was saying. God is not lonely. God is not needy. God does not feel rejected if we do not worship Him. What He is looking for are people who will live in agreement with His heart. One significant element of worship, like intercession, is agreement with God s heart. One reason God cares about agreement with His heart is because when we live in agreement with His heart, it develops the relationship between us. The Father is a God of relationship. He is saying, I am not lonely. That is not why I need your worship. When you worship Me, you position yourself to receive impartation from Me and have My power flow through you. This is what I am looking for. I am looking for a people who will interact with Me. I am a Father. I am a God of relationship. I am not lonely, rejected, or needy. That is not why I am looking for worship. I want interaction. I want partnership. I want My children to receive from Me and to have Me flow through them. That is what He is saying here. In worship we agree with who God is. You are holy. You are good. You are filled with mercy. When we worship, we are declaring agreement with who He is. When we intercede or pray, it is similar; we are agreeing with what He promised to do. Some people are more into intercession, Lord, send revival. You said You will send revival. I will do it. Others are into, I love You! I love You! You are amazing! You are beautiful!

2 Session 7 Releasing God s Power Through Intercession Page 2 God says, That is good. Whether you are agreeing with who He is worship or agreeing with what He said He will do intercession agreement is what He is after. We are not telling Him anything He does not know. He is not looking for information. He is looking for interaction at the heart level. 1. Worship and prayer flow together before God s throne and contribute to what God does on the earth. When the golden bowls of prayer are full in heaven, then Jesus will open the seals or release His end-time judgments against the Antichrist. 8...the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a new song, saying: You are worthy to take the scroll, and open its seals we shall reign on the earth. (Rev. 5:8-10) 3...the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne 4 the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God 5 Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth [releasing judgment] (Rev. 8:3-5) Worship and prayer around the throne flow together. Around the throne, the prayers of the saints are flowing and being stored up and received. There is worship around the throne. There are declarations of God s glory about who He is and declarations of the promises of what He said He would do. 2. The Lord uses intercessory worship to release His justice (vengeance against His enemies). 6 Let the high praises of God be in their mouth 7 to execute vengeance [justice] on the nations 8 to bind their kings with chains..., and their nobles with fetters of iron; 9 to execute In Psalm 149, David captured this. The great warrior king of Israel was a lovesick worshiper. David understood the relationship of worship and warfare in a very unique and clear way. He saw worship and warfare as flowing as one river from God s throne. David the great warrior king and great lovesick worshiper said, Let high praises flow out of your mouth and it will release the judgment of God on the enemies of God. That is pretty intense. The purpose of the judgment of God is to stop everything that hinders love. That is the point of His judgment: to stop everything that hinders love. Of course Psalm 149 has its greatest fulfillment in the generation the Lord returns. When the Antichrist, a real man, is on the earth having an evil influence around the earth, and the saints are praising and releasing the judgments of God, the power of God, against him, worship will be a very essential element of warfare. Notice in verse 9, this ability to worship and release the power of God against evil is the honor of all the saints. Beloved, that is something we will do in this age and in the age to come. B. The majesty of intercession: God has chosen intercession as the primary means by which He releases His power. Jesus intercedes forever (Heb. 7:25; Rom. 8:34). 25 He always [forever] lives to make intercession for them. (Heb. 7:25) 1. Through intercession, Jesus releases His power to rule and possess the nations (Ps. 2:7-8). 7 I [Jesus] will declare the decree: The LORD [the Father] has said to Me, You are My Son 8 Ask of Me [intercession], and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance (Ps. 2:7 8)

3 Session 7 Releasing God s Power Through Intercession Page 3 2. Jesus operated in the principle of intercession by speaking the Word to create the earth (Gen. 1). I love to use the phrase, the majesty and mystery of intercession. I have used it for years. The majesty of intercession. It is majestic because God chose it to release His power. That is one reason why it is majestic, because God said, If humans will agree with Me, the supernatural power of God will enter the earthly realm. That makes intercession a whole different level of importance in terms of activity. It crowns worship and intercession in its own category of importance, of dignified significant activity. The reason we care about that is if it is that important, we want to excel in it. We do not want to just be a part of a prayer room and just kind of put a few hours in and go about our business. We want to excel in this if this is really true. Even more than the fact that it releases God s power, it is majestic mostly because Jesus does it forever. Can you imagine the Jesus who is fully God and fully man, who forever makes intercession? I mean He is as much God as the Father is. Jesus is the uncreated God like the Father. One God, three persons. They have different functions. They relate together in the fullness of love, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but it is one God in three persons. It is the great mystery of the Trinity. It is remarkable that part of the Godhead, the second person, the Son, asks the Father to release His power. It is like, You are God. Why do You have to do that? That is the relationship aspect. That is the interaction between the Father and the Son. This makes intercession majestic. This is amazing that Jesus, even a million years from now, even with His resurrected body at the right hand of the Father, intercedes as a man while He is fully God as well. The Father is right there. Jesus is at His right hand. Jesus says, Yes, but I know the power and the value of intercession in My Father s plans. That verse right there, He always lives to make intercession, a number of translations say, He forever lives to make intercession. I like forever lives. Always means the same thing, but that word forever lets us know it is forever. In Psalm 2, David again, that great warrior king, that lovesick worshiper, the worshiping warrior David catches this by the Spirit. He is listening to an interaction, a dialogue between the Father and the Son. What a privilege! Jesus stands before the Father in verse 7, I will declare the Father s decrees. That is what He is saying. Jesus said, This is My response, because all the nations, the kings of the earth, are resisting God and resisting Jesus. Jesus says, Here is how I will respond. I will declare My Father s decrees. Somebody might say, Why? David answers, The Father said to Me. That is, Jesus could say if He was standing right here in the flesh, My Father told Me to do this. He told Me, Ask of Me and I will release the nations. Jesus, You already rose from the dead. The nations are Yours. You paid the price on the cross. You rose from the dead. You ascended. Jesus says, Yeah, but My Father told Me to ask. Is it not enough that You went to the cross, rose from the dead, and ascended? My Father said to ask, and I am going to ask. That is amazing to me that the Father releases the full possession of the nations to Jesus in context to Jesus intercession. Of course that intercessor is Jesus the Bridegroom King. We are His eternal companion, the bride of Christ, and He wants us together in intercession. He could ask without us. He say, in essence, No, I want you at My side, seated in heavenly places, asking the things I ask, partnering with My heart. Jesus is already King of the nations, but it is not enough that He has authority over the nations. He wants that authority to be openly displayed in the natural realm for every eye to see forever and forever. That is what He is after. That is what He means by I will possess the nations. Every single sphere of life and every city of every

4 Session 7 Releasing God s Power Through Intercession Page 4 nation of the earth will be fully obedient to Jesus. That is after He returns, but we are going to get more of that happening in this age. It is going to happen in fullness after He returns. Even then it is through Jesus asking. Again, Jesus, You rose from the dead. Why do You have to ask? My Father said to Me, Ask. That is why I ask. It is My Father s plan. C. The mystery of intercession: The primary principle of intercession is simply to tell God what He tells us to tell Him as the means of releasing His power. It is profoundly simple. Its mystery lies in its weakness, simplicity, and accessibility to all. Intercession is God s brilliant strategy for including the saints in ruling with Him in power. Here is the mystery of intercession. This is how simple it is. We simply tell God what He tells us to tell Him. Anybody can do it. You do not need an education. You do not need to have money. You do not need position. You do not need favor. You do not need beauty. You do not need popularity. All you need is a human spirit, and you say what God says back to Him. You can whisper it. Anybody can do the most majestic activity in the created order. Anybody can. That is remarkable. The most uneducated, the most ungifted, the most unpopular, the most un-everything person that is born again can do this. Its mystery is in its weakness, how weak it is. I say weakness quote unquote. Tell God what He tells us to tell Him. It is in the Word. He says, Pray the spirit of wisdom will be released. Okay, spirit of wisdom be released. He says, Yeah, yeah, that is it. Anybody can do that. That is the mystery of it. The most powerful activity in the entire human race, and anybody can do. A threeyear-old can do it. Literally. Out of the mouths of babes, David wrote in Psalm 8, God would perfect praise out of their mouth. A three-year-old can say what God says. Lord, send revival. Lord, touch Daddy. Lord, help Mommy. A three-year-old can do that, and it works. What a brilliant strategy of God to involve the whole human race, whoever wants to be involved, whoever says yes to the grace of God! II. JESUS CREATED THE EARTH: THE PRINCIPLE OF INTERCESSION A. The principle of intercession was expressed at creation: The Father s plans were spoken by Jesus, and then the Spirit released power. The Father has many plans in His heart and ordained that Jesus speak them out in intercession. We see Jesus s work in the phrase and God said ten times in Genesis 1. Jesus is identified as the Creator who said, Let there be light (Jn. 1:3; Eph. 3:9). 2 The earth was without form, and void...the Spirit was hovering over the waters. 3 God said, Let there be light ; and there was light. 9 God said, Let the waters be gathered together... and it was so 11 God said, Let the earth bring forth grass...and it was so. (Gen. 1:2-11) 6 By the word of the LORD the heavens were made (Ps. 33:6) I want you to see this principle of intercession. It is remarkable to me. The principle of intercession. Jesus created the heavens and the earth by this principle. Look in Genesis 1:2, The earth was without form and void, but the Spirit was hovering over the waters. The earth existed, but it did not have any of its form and its beauty. All the landscape and all the intricacies of the beauties of creation were not yet in place. The earth itself, the rock was there, and the water was on it. The remarkable thing is that the Father had already ordained

5 Session 7 Releasing God s Power Through Intercession Page 5 the fullness of His glory on the earth. I mean the trees, the animals, the human race, etc. The Father ordained all of that. It was already approved. I describe intercession as being like a check that needs two signatures. It needs to be cosigned, and God already signed it. He already wrote it. All He is waiting for is a cosigner so the check can be cashed. The Father has already approved of it. The Spirit is moving in power. Can you imagine the Spirit hovering? I mean the Spirit hovering over the earth. We are talking power. God approved it, the Father said yes, and the Spirit is present in power, but there is darkness everywhere. Then the Son speaks, Let there be, and then the Spirit releases it. The Spirit does not release it until the Son says what the Father is thinking. The Father s plan. The Father could have said, Let it be, but it is clear in the New Testament that Jesus is the one acting in creation. The fact is that the Father had approved it, the Spirit was present, but the darkness continued until somebody said, the one with authority said, Let there be light. Then there is light. Ten times He says, Let there be, let there be, let there be. The Spirit moves when the Son speaks the Father s plan. Some folks say, The Father, whatever God wants He will do. The Father could say, I wanted creation, but it was not going to be released until somebody in relationship to Me said it and the Spirit released it. It is not enough to say, Whatever God wants He will do. God says, Whatever I want, I want you to agree with Me in faith. God said it, I believe it; therefore I say it, and the Lord releases it. It is not enough to put it all there. He says, No, I want partnership. I want My people involved. We are not talking about praying only at a prayer meeting, praying for revival or the stopping of abortion or stopping human trafficking, which are so important. You can do this driving down the road in your car by yourself, walking around your block. You can do this lying on your bed at night. You do not need to wait for a prayer meeting for this to work. B. Jesus sustains and upholds (holds together) the created order by speaking the word of His power to the Father (Col. 1:16-17; Heb. 1:2-3). God brings us forth in blessing and power as Jesus speaks His Word over our lives (Jas. 1:18). These are examples of how intercession is expressed by Jesus. 3 who [Jesus]...upholding all things by the word of His power (Heb. 1:3) 17 And in Him all things consist [hold together, NIV, NAS]. (Col. 1:17) Not only did Jesus create by speaking, He sustains and upholds the created order by speaking. The heavens and the earth are created, all the nations, the trees, the vegetation, the mountains, the birds, the animals, the human race, but Jesus sustains and upholds it by speaking. What a remarkable thing! Hebrews 1, He upholds all things by speaking the word. I do not believe He is saying every minute of the day, Father, release Your power, release Your power, release Your power, release Your power, for billions of years. I do not know how He does it. There are moments, and there are times, but this is beyond my understanding of how this works. There are times when Jesus, the second person of the Trinity says, Father. He speaks, and there is a surge of power that keeps the created order sustained. If He quits speaking, the whole worlds would disintegrate. The universe would. It is upheld by a man speaking. Beloved, that is power. In Colossians 1, Paul said, Everything consists in Him. Other translations say, They hold together in Him. Everything holds together by Jesus. I love James 1:18, God brings us forth He brings forth blessing by speaking the word of His power. He brings forth blessing in your life by speaking. He continues to speak over

6 Session 7 Releasing God s Power Through Intercession Page 6 you. He longs that His people would interact with Him and join with Him more in the speaking because it is the principle of intercession. C. When Jesus articulates the Father s thoughts, He functions as the Living Word. One reason why Jesus is called the Word (Jn. 1:1; Rev. 19:13) is because He brings God s ideas into existence in the natural world by speaking. In other words, He acts and rules by speaking the Word of God. 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God [Jesus]... 3 All things were made through Him (Jn. 1:1-3) When Jesus articulates what the Father s thoughts are and what His plans are, He functions as the living Word. We all know the verse where Jesus is called the Word of God. Why is He called the Word of God? One reason, He brings God s ideas, God the Father s plans, into existence in the earthly realm by speaking. He is not just the Word of God because the Word of God describes Him. He is the oracle. He is that spoken, living oracle. Whatever the Father is thinking, the plans of the Father, Jesus speaks them in unity with His people under His authority, and those plans manifest in the natural realm. He is the Word of God. He is that living Word, that living oracle from the Father. Fully God. Yes, the Bible does represent His heart, His emotions; it reveals Him. Jesus is the Word in a manner beyond that which He is revealed by the Word. He is that oracle who releases the power of God, who released creation, and who sustains creation. He is the Word. He acts and rules by speaking the Word. D. When Jesus was tempted by Satan, He spoke God s Word to resist each temptation (Mt. 4:1-10). 4 He answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. 6 said to Him, If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down 7 Jesus said to him, It is written again, You shall not tempt the LORD 9 And he said to Him, All these things I will give You if You worship me. 10 Then Jesus said to him, Away with you, Satan! For it is written, You shall worship the LORD (Mt. 4:4-10) Matthew 4 you know the passage, but we need to imitate this passage. We are talking about the sinless, spotless Son of God. He is being tempted. He speaks the Word. Satan tempts Him. He does not just bristle up, grit His teeth, Please leave. Please leave. I feel depressed. Someone pray for Me. No, He said, It is written. He spoke the Word back. My point being, how much more should we! The enemy attacks us, and we sometimes just hang in there and let the storm pass, suffer and sweat, filled with fear, filled with temptation, and we yield. The Holy Spirit says, Why don t you speak the Word right now? Speak the Word. The sinless One did it. Even He needed to do it. How much more you? Let this depression leave. I will be okay in a week or two. Speak the Word. I will get someone to pray over me. You speak the Word. In the name of Jesus it is written. Speak who you are in Christ. Speak the authority that you have. Beloved, the power is released by speaking the Word. E. The word of God functions as the sword of the Spirit, striking Satan s domain (Eph. 6:17). The sword of Jesus mouth refers to His power being released by the commands of His mouth. He uses the sword or rod of His mouth to judge and remove all that resists Him (Isa. 11:4; 49:2; Rev. 19:15).

7 Session 7 Releasing God s Power Through Intercession Page 7 17 Take...the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. (Eph. 6:17) 2 And He [the Father] has made My mouth like a sharp sword (Isa. 49:2) 4 He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth (Isa. 11:4) As you might have noticed, I am saying the same thing over and over again. There are so many verses on it that I have a lot of material. I have only said the same thing like seventeen times in the last twenty-one minutes. I know you know it, but I wanted you to know that I knew it too. Ephesians 6, The sword of the Spirit. The Word functions as the sword against the domain of Satan. The Word of God when spoken functions like a sword that strikes the domain of darkness. Whether that domain of darkness is attacking us or someone or some place, we speak the Word and it goes forth like a sword. Isaiah 49:2 is Jesus speaking through Isaiah the prophet, The Father made My mouth like a sword. What does that mean? Jesus releases the power of God by speaking. That is what that means. Isaiah 11:4, The Messiah shall strike the earth with His mouth, the rod of His mouth. He will use His commands to release judgment. It goes forth by speaking. F. One aspect of the new covenant is that the Lord puts His words into the mouths of His people so that forever they may speak in agreement with Him to release His power on earth this is a principle of intercession. The Lord has chosen to govern the earth in partnership with His people. 21 this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth from this time and forevermore. (Isa. 59:21) Isaiah 59:21 is talking about the new covenant now. It is talking about the new covenant God has with His people forever and forever and forever. This is the new covenant. Look what it says, Isaiah 59:21, This is My covenant. My Spirit who is upon you, My words I put in your mouth. This is a core truth of the new covenant. We are new covenant believers. Meaning we are born again by the Holy Spirit. We are in covenant with God. It is the new covenant, which is superior to the old covenant in the Old Testament. Here is how the new covenant works. My Spirit is on you. My word is in you. My Spirit is on you. My word is in you. This sounds like Genesis 1. The Spirit was hovering over the earth, but the Word of God that was in the mouth of Jesus needed to be spoken. He spoke it. He says, I put My word in your mouth. My word shall not depart from your mouth. He went on to say later the verse is quite a long verse This is true of you, your descendants, and their descendants forever and forever. Here is the covenant. His Spirit is on you like in Genesis 1. It is present. The Word is in your mouth. You declare it. Do not ever have a time in your life when you are not declaring the Word. The Word should never stop departing from your mouth. Beloved, this is intercession and worship. I do not just mean a worship meeting. Worship meetings are important. God is really into corporate intercession and corporate worship. It is not limited to that. The Spirit is on me. The Word is in me. It is the Word of God. I do not mean I need a prophetic dream. I am talking about the Bible. Prophetic dreams can bolster our faith, but it needs to tell us the truth that is already in the Book. Here is the covenant. My Spirit is on you. My word is in you. Here is how it is activated. Do not ever have a time when the Word is not leaving your mouth. Sing it. Say it. Pray it. Sing it. Say it. Pray it. Say it. Sing it. Pray it. Never should there be a time the Word should stop departing from your lips forever. In the resurrection, a million years from now, a billion years from now, Spirit on you, Word in your mouth, you will speaking and releasing the power of God. That is the subject of our next session after the break.

8 Session 7 Releasing God s Power Through Intercession Page 8 G. The Lord put His words in the mouth of Jeremiah to bring about His purposes in the nations. 9 Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. 10 See, I have this day set you over the nations to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant. (Jer. 1:9-10) 8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. (Josh. 1:8) He told Jeremiah the same principle, over and over, Jeremiah, I put My word in your mouth. Jeremiah 1, I put My word in your mouth. That is how God releases His power. I set you over nations. How does God set a teenage prophet over nations? Jeremiah was a teenager. He was a boy. God set him over nations. It did not mean he put him on the throne in the eyes of men. The king threw Jeremiah in prison. The king of Judah threw him in prison, but God says, You may be in prison, but you are over the nation. You are over the king who put you in prison. Really? It doesn t feel like I am over him. Trust Me. You are over him. I put My word in your mouth. Speak it. You will built and plant. You will uproot the wrong things. You will establish the right things by speaking. We are talking a sixteen or eighteen-year-old teenage prophet who ended up in prison several times, but he was uprooting nations by speaking in prayer. He was establishing nations by speaking. With Joshua it was the same thing. The Lord appeared to Joshua in Joshua 1. The Lord appeared to him, right there in front of him, Moses is dead. The children of Israel are about to enter into the Promised Land. Moses the great patriarch is now dead. Joshua thinks, Oh no! I am the leader. How does this work? The Lord appears and says, Here is the key, Joshua. The word of God shall never stop going forth from your lips. You speak My word. Never stop. Just like Isaiah 59, the verse we looked at. Meditate on the Word, but more than that, speak it. The Word of God shall not depart from your lips. Meaning, there should never be a time when you cease to speak it. If you stop meditate on it, you will stop speaking it. If you stop speaking it, you will stop meditating on it. The rich get richer. If you mediate, you speak it more. If you speak it more, you meditate on it more. Both of them go together. Here is what the Lord said to him, standing right in front of Joshua, a brand-new leader, You do this. You speak it and meditate, speak it and mediate, meditate and speak it, I will make you prosperous, and you will succeed in everything in the will of God. You quit meditating and speaking, you will not prosper. You will not enter into all that I have ordained for you. This is just a simple exhortation to prayer. That is really what it is. It is more than that, but at the most simple, basic, boil-it-down meaning, this is a message about intercession and worship. In worship we agree with who He is. In intercession we agree with what He said He would do. III. JESUS RELEASES GOD S JUSTICE IN RESPONSE TO INTERCESSION A. Justice is God making wrong things right and is released in connection to night-and-day prayer (speaking God s Word). Jesus, the ultimate social reformer, was the first to connect justice to nightand-day prayer. Prayer confronts the source of injustice in the spirit realm. 7 Shall not God bring about justice for His elect, who cry to Him day and night? 8 He will bring about justice for them speedily. When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth? (Lk. 18:7-8; NAS)

9 Session 7 Releasing God s Power Through Intercession Page 9 We know the passage. Jesus said, Night and day, cry out night and day, and I will release justice. Jesus connects the release of justice in the earth to night and day agreement with Him. If I can get people to agree with Me night and day, I will release justice. Justice is making wrong things right. There are many, many different ways that justice is manifest. It is not just putting the criminals in jail. Justice is far more than that. It is making wrong things right, and Jesus connected His people agreeing with Him night and day to releasing more justice. Jesus is the first social reformer that I know of anywhere in history that connected night and day prayer with the release of social justice. He said, They are connected because with night and day prayer you deal with the source of injustice in the spirit realm. With night and day prayer you deal with the demonic source of the injustice. Then you do the acts of justice. You do all these other things as well. B. Examples of God s justice (judgment or salvation) that makes wrong things right: 1. Healing: God s judgment on sickness is seen in the manifestation of healing power. 2. Revival: God s judgment on compromise is seen in the Church being revived by the Spirit. 3. Soul-winning: God s judgment on the kingdom of darkness is seen when people get saved. 4. End-time judgments: God s judgments against the Antichrist s governments and their actions 5. Righteous legislation: God s judgment on unrighteous laws (abortion laws, etc.) C. We do not merely pray for the work that we do in the kingdom prayer is part of our work. Oswald Chambers wrote, Prayer does not fit us for the greater work; prayer is the greater work. D. In our personal lives, we speak God s Word against injustice and Satan s lies that assault our hearts or the hearts of others. In this way we release strength to others called encouragement as it puts courage in their heart. God releases healing in this same way as we speak His Word over the sick. IV. WEAKNESS AND WISDOM OF INTERCESSION: SEVEN BENEFITS A. God uses things that men consider weak to triumph over the things that men consider mighty. God uses those who embrace the so-called weakness of praying to triumph over human might. Our prayers are often offered without us feeling God s power, yet they ascend before God in power. 27 God has chosen the [so-called] weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty 29 that no flesh should glory in His presence. (1 Cor. 1:27) When we look at this, we see the weakness and wisdom of intercession or the weakness and wisdom of saying what God says. We can call it intercessory worship. We can call it worship. You are good. You are glorious. I love You. I am Yours. You are mine. That is worship. Intercession. Release Your power. Cause the harvest to come in. Send revival. Open the eyes of this person or that person. Release Your healing power. Bring unity. Solve the division problem in our family. That is intercession. In 1 Corinthians 1:27, Paul said, God has chosen the weak things. What he meant was the so-called weak things. The things men call weak. They are not actually weak, but men look at them and say, You are doing what? Yeah, I am taking a lot of time every day to tell God what He tells me to tell Him. Yeah, that is really cool. What else are you doing with your life?

10 Session 7 Releasing God s Power Through Intercession Page 10 I am doing other things as well, but I am really prioritizing learning more about telling God what He tells me to tell Him. Well, you have so much gifting and so much ability and opportunity. You really want to tell an invisible God who answers in a delayed-response program? He is invisible. You don t feel it most of the time when you tell Him what He tells you to tell Him. He has a delayed answering system. Paul says, You can call it weak if you want, but I promise you this. It will put to shame what men call mighty. When you look back over the years because you cannot measure most prayer by days and weeks. You measure it by years and decades You look back. There are many prayers that are answered instantly. Some that are answered in a few days, few weeks, but I am talking about the prayers that shift nations and the prayers that set a family on a trajectory in God that has deep things in God with heritage. Those prayers over decades, you look back and you say, God, You really did answer! Paul said, He will put to shame what God call powerful by your embracing what men call weak. There is nothing weaker than prayer in my opinion. Again, you are talking to an invisible God. You do not feel it many times. Sometimes you do. A lot of times you do not. Beloved, whether you feel it or not, God feels it even though you do not. We cannot feel it so we think He does not feel it or does not value it. That is what I am saying. Where did you get that idea that your prayer was not valued? Because you do not feel it, you think God does not hear it? God s Word is now wrong because you do not feel it? I don t know. I don t feel anything. The God of Genesis 1 said in 1 John 5:14, This is the confidence, that if you speak a prayer in the will of God you can be absolutely sure God hears it. The idea is that He is answering it in His own timing and those increments of power are being released according to His wisdom. Our prayers are offered in weakness, meaning we do not feel it. In the human sense it is offered, Lord, that was a pretty pathetic prayer meeting. We think if we feel a lot in the prayer meeting that the prayer meeting moved God more. The music was really good, and the people were excited, and everybody was standing, a few people jumping, God must have really heard that one. If you are sitting depressed, groaning and dead-tired on triple jetlag, in debt, but you speak God s Word back to Him, it is the same. It is the same. It moves God when we speak in agreement with Him, regardless what we feel. We can offer it in weakness, but I tell you though we offer it without feeling power, it ascends before Him because of the blood of Jesus. It ascends in power no matter what. B. Benefit #1: Renews our faith Speaking God s Word in intercession causes us to internalize His Word and thus renews our faith, draws us into intimacy with God, and transforms us. God s words are spirit and life they impart God s life to us (Jn. 6:63). Each time we say what God says, it marks and changes us. Each time we receive a small impartation of His life, which illuminates our mind and tenderizes our heart. This process renews our faith. As a programmer rewrites lines of code when developing a program, we rewrite lines of code in our heart by speaking God s Word. 63 The words that I [Jesus] speak to you are spirit, and they are life. (Jn. 6:63) There are seven benefits. These are so simple. I want you to get them one, two, three, four. Benefit number one. When we speak the Word I want you to focus here on number one. Do not go ahead just yet. This is a very important one when we speak the Word, we internalize the Word. It does something in us that we cannot measure while it is happening. Jesus said, My words are spirit. My words are life. When we speak God s words back to God, whether we feel it, whether we have the spiritual discernment, those words are spirit and

11 Session 7 Releasing God s Power Through Intercession Page 11 life. Meaning they impart life. They have spiritual content. They have spiritual power. They have spiritual substance. They release life, the ζοη (zoé) life, the God-kind of life. It is more than human physical life. His Word releases spiritual life every time it goes forth. Whether it is from God s mouth or from your mouth, it is the Word of God. It is the very essence of what life is. It has spiritual quality to it. It has spiritual power. It releases divine life every time you say it. God, send revival to this city. God, touch my family. Lord, heal this person. You say what God says, and every time it marks your heart even a little bit. I like the analogy it is a weak analogy, but it is the best one I can think of that is like a programmer rewriting lines of code, developing a new program. Maybe this program is writing a million lines of code. A million, one line at a time, and it takes them however long. Every time you speak God s Word, it is like a line of code being written on your inner man, one line at a time. Maybe there are a million lines before that program is ready. I do not know computers, so I do not really know how that works, but I know it is a lot. Every single time I am just thinking of the prayer room, though it is not limited to the prayer room someone is on the microphone and praying, Lord, release justice. Stop human trafficking, I whisper, Lord, release justice. Stop human trafficking. That is a line of code rewritten on your heart. That is why you do not want to just sit in the room and have background music. You want to say stuff. You don t want just to have background music to do your . You really want to say stuff. The worship leader is singing, Lord, You are good. You are good. I love You. You are good. You are mine. I am Yours. You want to say some of those things. You are good. I did not feel anything. You are good. Still did not feel anything. You are mine, and I am Yours. Did not feel anything again. The Lord says, Stay with it. You are rewriting lines of code. This renews our faith. It draws us into intimacy. It transforms us. It takes time. Sometimes there is instant breakthrough. Do not put off the instant breakthrough concept, but do not lose your way because you do not see the instant result in the way we want. The instant thing comes suddenly when we least expect it sometimes. Boom. The breakthrough. I tell you, do not give up this lifestyle when you do not see the instant result. It is renewing you. It is renewing you. It is renewing you. I am not saying this as a boast. I am saying this as an illustration. I have been in daily prayer meetings, in public prayer meetings, praying on a microphone, since whenever I started May 1979 that is thirty some years. I made a commitment. I was twenty years old. It was thirty-five years ago, something like that. I said, I am going to do daily prayer meetings by the grace of God. Unless traveling, on vacation, ninety-eight percent of the time, ninety-five, whatever the number is, I have been in daily prayer meetings. I have had people say, Man, how did you stay with it? I said, I will tell you. I know the secret. That is amazing that you stayed with it. Actually you are recharging your battery by doing it. It is the doing of it that enables you to keep doing it. I have had friends say, That is so remarkable. I say, Not exactly. If you keep the battery plugged in, you can actually keep using it. What they are really saying is, How do you endure prayer meetings for so many years? They are going to prayer meetings without talking to God. They are sitting in the room. But if you actually talk to God, something

12 Session 7 Releasing God s Power Through Intercession Page 12 gets renewed. You charge the battery while you are using the phone. I do not know exactly how all that works. If you actually talk to God, something happens, and you stay with it. I don t look at it as different ones have and said, That is so amazing. I say, Not exactly right. How does the battery keep working? When you talk on it, and it is plugged in, it keeps working. The key to prayer meetings is go to them. That is how you keep going to them. It is not sitting in a room while other people pray. That is the key right there. Not like you have to be praying fully engaged every minute every time, but as a rule pray in prayer meetings. I know that sounds cute. I mean it. Ten years later you will still be in them. You will still have the battery plugged in. It will renew you. There will not be any mystery. You are twenty-three now. When you are fifty-nine, using my story, you will still be in prayer meetings. You do not have the same calling. Maybe you will not be in them every day. That is not the point, every day. The Lord told me to do that. The point is you will be enabled and inspired to do that. You can talk on the phone all day long if you keep it plugged in. Talk on the phone. That is a horrible analogy! The reason I say horrible analogy, is that I may be explaining it a little wrongly. C. Benefit #2: Increased understanding Intercession releases spiritual insight (Eph. 1:17). As Daniel prayed, Gabriel visited him and gave him skill to understand spiritual things (Dan. 9:20-23). 17 the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know (Eph. 1:17-18) 20 Now while I was speaking, praying and presenting my supplication before the LORD 21 yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel 22 said, O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand. 23 At the beginning of your supplications the command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved understand the vision (Dan. 9:20-23) Benefit two. Another benefit, you increase in revelation. You increase in understanding. Paul prayed that you would increase in understanding. If you pray, you will increase in understanding. Even if you are not praying for understanding, you will still get it. If you stay in that dialogue, whether it is worship or intercession, both/and, either/or, you will grow in understanding. I promise you that you will grow in the spirit of wisdom and revelation. Daniel 9, While I was praying, Gabriel appeared. It says the man Gabriel. It is clearly the angel Gabriel. He appeared as a man to Daniel. He appeared to Daniel a second time. He appeared the first time in the form of a man. He said the man Gabriel, Daniel 8. Then Daniel 9, he appears to him in his human form, and Daniel knows who he is. In Daniel 10, he has more visions. So in Daniel 8 and Daniel 9, the man Gabriel appears to him in human form. Here is what Gabriel said to him, verse 23, At the beginning of your supplication supplication and prayer are the same thing when you started praying, I came to you to give you understanding. Then he told him, By the way, you are greatly beloved of God. I came here to tell you the vision, to give you understanding. If you will stay in prayer I mean prayer for revival it will expand your understanding. Your understanding of the Bible will grow even if you are praying for revival and not that particular subject. You will still grow in understanding of spiritual truth. You get in that environment of talking to God, and you will grow in spiritual understanding even if you are not focused entirely on the subject that you end up understanding more.

13 Session 7 Releasing God s Power Through Intercession Page 13 D. Benefit #3: Release of God s power Intercession releases God s power and justice as it changes the spiritual atmosphere of cities (Lk. 18:8). When Daniel prayed, angelic activity increased and demonic activity was hindered in the spirit realm (Dan. 10). There is an irrefutable law we observe in history, that revival is released in a far greater measure when night-and-day prayer is offered. 21 However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting. (Mt 17:21) 12 Daniel I have come because of your words. 13 But the [demonic] prince of Persia withstood me twenty-one days Michael [archangel] came to help me (Dan. 10:12-13) Benefit three. Intercession releases the power of God. It changes the spiritual atmosphere of cities, towns, and families. Whatever city, family, or nation you pray for, their spiritual atmosphere changes. Look again at Daniel 10. Daniel is in twenty-one days of fasting and prayer. In Daniel 10:12, the angel appears. He said, I came because of your words. Because of your words I came. A demon stopped me, but you kept praying. So Michael the archangel came, and we pushed that demon out of the way. Because you kept praying, angels helped me, and we drove back the demons, and the spiritual atmosphere was changed. Demons are dislodged. Angels are released, engaged, and employed related to the prayers of people on the earth. Remarkable! E. Benefit #4: Love and Unity Intercession is a practical expression of loving people as it releases deliverance for the needy and unites our heart to the people and places for which we pray. 19 This will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer (Phil. 1:19) 11 You also helping together in prayer for us (2 Cor. 1:11) The fourth benefit is love and unity. In Philippians 1:19, Paul said, This will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers. This is remarkable to me! Paul s disciples were much younger believers. He said, You pray, I get delivered. Paul, aren t you like the main apostle? Shouldn t you be able to get through this by your own prayer? Paul said, You pray, deliverance happens for me in a greater measure. There is something in the Father heart of God that He connects us together. It is an expression of love. I have had people say, Well, I don t know about the prayer room. I am more into loving people. I reply, There is nothing you will do more loving than spending a couple hours laboring in prayer. Throw a little fasting in. That family you are praying for, I tell you that you will experience the love of God for them. You will see it if you ever do this. It will draw on your resources of love to stay with that prayer. I do not mean prayer is the only way to love, but prayer is one of the most dynamic expressions of love. I have heard over the years, I love people. I do not really do the prayer thing. I think, You have obviously never prayed for someone for three straight hours. That will draw on love in you in a way that might be surprising. It is a dynamic expression of love. It is not the only one. There are many expressions. Here is what Paul said in 2 Corinthians 1:11, You help me together in prayer. Beloved, he is telling this to the Corinthians. The Corinthians? That was the most carnal church in the book of Acts, surpassed only by the Laodiceans a little bit later. Corinth, they had so much sin going on. Paul would say, Yeah, I realize it, but there is a ceiling on me that I cannot get past unless you are praying for me. Beloved, you love those for whom you pray. You pray for North Korea, you will love North Korea. I have prayed for Cairo over the years. I love Cairo. You pray for Jerusalem, you will love Jerusalem. You pray for

14 Session 7 Releasing God s Power Through Intercession Page 14 orphans we were doing that this morning. We do that a couple times throughout the week you will love orphans. You pray for the lost, you will love the lost. That is why you pray for the church. All the prayers of the New Testament, most of them are for the church. You think, Why? You will love the church instead of criticizing the church if you pray for the church. When I hear someone say, Those uh-uh-uh-uh I think, They do not really pray for the church. They pray for revival. They are thinking of something else. You pray for the church, and you will love the church. You really will. Your whole attitude will change. You will love whomever you pray for even if you do not mean to. You will end up being tender towards even your enemies, thinking, Gee wiz, I just hope God is kind to them. Like, Where did that come from? F. Benefit #5: Multiplied blessing Intercession for others causes God s blessings to multiply by returning back on the life of the intercessor. Every prayer to release God s blessing and power on another is a prayer that God also returns back on you and your family. The law of the kingdom requires that we always receive more than what we give away by faith (Lk. 6:38). 38 Give, and it will be given to you: good measure and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you. (Lk. 6:38) Benefit five. Multiplied blessing. You will never out-give God. You give this is talking in Luke 6 about money it will come back to you. It is not limited to money. You give in prayer you pray for North Korea, you pray for Jerusalem, you pray for Cairo that prayer will come back on your family. God, I ask you for liberty for the saints in North Korea. That liberty will touch your children and grandchildren. You may think, I do not have any children and grandchildren. I am twenty. Well, you may end up with children and grandchildren. That prayer will outlast your life on the earth. That prayer will be alive thousands of years from now. Oh really? Okay, Lord release liberty in North Korea then. That prayer will come back on your family line and your life. G. Benefit #6: Long-term impact Intercession makes a long-term impact. Our prayers for people and cities have an impact both now and in the age to come. The prayers of the saints from history are stored in a bowl near God s throne and make an impact in the end times (Rev. 5:8; 8:1-6). Long-term impact. We pray, God, touch a city, a person, in this age. Beloved, this is a big subject. Those prayers are still alive in God. The prayers you are praying for Jerusalem? Well, Jerusalem, Jesus will live there. Let s pick another city. That is such a glorious, dynamic concept. Cairo, Egypt. I have a real burden to pray for Cairo. Those prayers will still be alive a million years from now in the new heavens and the new earth. Those prayers will still be alive. Prayers are stored in the bowl. Prayers in the will of God do not die. They do not die out. They are stored in God s presence. Malachi 3:16 talked about a book of remembrance being written when the saints talk together in the fear of God. God writes about them, and they are remembered forever. That is the idea. They are in God s book. The prayers are in God s bowl. They do not die out.