Friday 4 October 2019
Friday 27 April 2018
INTERCESSORY PRAYERS: THE RIGHT APPROACH
Have you ever wondered why God came down
heavily upon those who complained in the wilderness after they came back from
their voyage of the Promised Land? Sometimes, it seems reasonable to complain
or murmur and many times God forgives such and at times He did punish those who
complained. Low level Christians murmur and complain when things are not right,
middle level Christians stay silent, they recognize God’s sovereignty over the
affairs of men and will submit to fate not faith. It takes a matured Christian not
to complain, not to resign to fate but to respond to situation and circumstances
through intercession.
Who is an Intercessor?
Intercessors are not primarily those who
are preoccupied with their own personal lives. They are neither depressed nor
anxious about their own lives as much as they desire the will of God done. Intercessors
cherish the privilege of standing before God as the utmost in their lives. Such
a privilege they will never surrender to anything else no matter how
threatening even their lives could be. Our Lord Jesus Christ has shown
intercessor in John 17 as He himself faced impending death; He decided to
intercede for His disciples. There are times for personal prayers but much more
there are times for intercessory prayers.
Intercessors are not only praying for few
minutes and cast their mind off, no, as they attend to their daily assignments,
their hearts are connected to God for petition to remind God of His word, His
mercy, His power, His love etc. Nothing delights the heart of an intercessor as
much as the dealings of God upon him/her. He sees God honouring him with
answered prayers, divine delights and unique revelations. Intercessors are
those who stand in the gap for others.
Benefits of Intercession
One of the profound advantages of being
an intercessor is God’s mark on one.
Ezek 9:4-6 “
and the Lord said to him, "Go through the midst of the city, through the
midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on
the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are
done within it." 5 To the others He said in my hearing, "Go after
him through the city and kill; do not let your eye spare, nor have any pity. 6
Utterly slay old and young men, maidens and little children and women; but do not come near anyone on whom is the
mark; and begin at My sanctuary." So they began with the elders who
were before the temple.” I have come to know
this through a practical life experience. Intercessors are dear to the heart of
God.
Intercession shows our obedience to God
(1 Tim 2:1,3)Therefore
I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of
thanks be made for all men, for this is good and acceptable in the sight of God
our Savior. Intercession therefore fulfills the biblical mandate God has given
us.
Intercessory prayers lead to revelation
As we found out with the Abraham, God
knew Abraham to be an intercessor and God had to reveal to him what He was
about to do. Abraham did not disappoint God, he pleaded with God concerning the
righteous people in Sodom and God replied every request he made. Gen. 18: 16-33
Conclusion
Each of us must remember James 5:16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and
pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of
a righteous man avails much. It is the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous
man that avails much. Intercessor must maintain, the righteousness God gave
them through Jesus and must be quick to confess their sins if they sin.
According to William Martin, 1878, In the warfare that is raging. …God needs
people brave and true: May He then depend on you? May the Lord depend on you? Loyalty is but His
due; Say, O spirit, brave and true, That He may depend on you.
Tuesday 11 July 2017
Friday 23 June 2017
UNDER THE MIGHTY HAND OF GOD
UNDER THE MIGHTY HAND OF GOD
1 Peter 5 : 5-7
Introduction
A king in the Old Testament was considered to have
done evil more than any other kings before him in Israel so God sent His
prophet to tell him the punishment for his evils just as the prophet was about
to leave, the king humbled himself and God called the attention of the prophet
to the way the king humbled himself and the judgments were postponed to the
time of his children 1 Kings 16:33 cf 1
Kings 21: 21-27. God is always interested in a humble and a contrite heart.
The Epistle of Peter is one of the general
epistles. General because it was addressed to Christians generally.
Specifically, it was addressed to Christians who were facing persecution and
sufferings as at that time. 1 Peter 1: 6,7. If you agree with me, Christians
are facing hard times. I went to an institution last week and the Christian
woman was denied been the librarian position simply because she was Christian.
Just this week a young lady applied for a job and the prospective employer
asked her to be his girl friend, she turned down the offer. Some had been made
to resign because they refused to compromised their faith, it was to this
audience that God to humble themselves under the mighty hand of God, take note,
not just under the hand of God but under the mighty hand of God, there may be a
possibility that when one is going through life's issues one may forget that
the hand of God is still mighty. Never forget that the hand of the Lord is
mighty and HE will manifest for you in Jesus name.
Under the mighty hand of God
1. Humble yourself v6 - It is better to humble
oneself than to be humiliated but I tell you pride goes before a fall only
those who humble themselves will not be humiliated. Christian humility consists
of a due sense of our dependence on God, God we are as nothing before Him; He is the
high and lofty One who inhabiteth eternity; from everlasting to everlasting He
is God; boundless in might, infinite in all His perfections.
Humility will also consist in a low estimate of our
knowledge. "Be not wise," says the apostle, "in your own
conceit." Christian humility also consist in
the fact that we derive everything from God. The Word of God which saves our
soul must be received with meekness James 1: 21
Hear a story of Mueller
At sixty years of age Dr. A. T. Pierson was not too
old to learn, and, with humility and an eager thirst after knowledge, he
listened as George Müller of Bristol gave detailed testimony to show God as a
hearer and answerer of prayer. In one of these interviews he asked Mr. Müller
if he had ever petitioned God for anything that had not been granted.
"Sixty-two years, three months, five days and
two hours have passed," replied Mr. Müller with his characteristic
exactness, "since I began to pray that two men might be converted. I have
prayed daily for them ever since and as yet neither of them shows any signs of
turning to God."
"Do you expect God to convert them?"
"Certainly," was the confident reply.
"Do you think God would lay on His child such a burden for sixty years if
He had no purpose for their conversion?"
Not long after Mr. Müller's death, Dr. Pierson was
again in Bristol, preaching in Bethesda Chapel. In the course of his sermon, he
told of this conversation, and as he was going out at the close of the service
a lady stopped him and said: "One of those two men, to whom Mr. Müller
referred, was my uncle. He was converted and died a few weeks ago. The other
man was brought to Christ in Dublin."
2. Under The mighty hand of God there is exaltation
v6 - Exaltation comes in different forms; for singles, marriage could be
exaltation, for applicants; gainful employment is an exaltation, all that made
you shout or sing in exultation is exaltation. Psalm 75: 6. The Lord of Host
will effect your promotion in Jesus name.
3. Under the mighty hand of God there is sufficient
care for your burden. - Burden is that major concern of your heart and many
times you prayer is directed at that burden most of the time.
God's care 1. Cordial and tender.2. Active and
efficacious. 3. Patient and unwearied. 4. Permanent and lasting.
Thursday 20 October 2016
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