I realise that some readers will read the title of this BLOG and, perhaps, groan inwardly. I get it. We live in Melbourne, Australia, and the number of people running amok, protesting, vandalising, graffitiing, assaulting, stealing – or worse – and being bailed dozens of times based on some assumption that they’re too young to really know what they’re doing, is quite overwhelming and depressing. No one seems to know what to do, or take responsibility, and government has seemed very reluctant to take a hard line and has been dragged (kicking and screaming) back to the legislature to pass new laws. (And these are mostly a return to what we had before the great watering down of our previous bail laws).
But it is not just protestors and those committing crimes that are failing to take responsibility and owning their outrageous and shocking behaviour; and it is not just government, either, who are reluctant to take responsible action.
The church has to take some responsibility, too.
In fact, in many ways, as I have said before, the church has the most responsible role in our nation for preventing, or at least limiting, the demise of our society - its values, standards, morals and behaviours. Perhaps the most important way in which the Church has NOT taken its responsibilities seriously is in its failure to intercede in prayer for our nation. Many in the Church feel that intercession is someone else’s responsibility. It isn’t. We are all responsible – every last one of us.
2 Chronicles 7:14 (NIV)
“… if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
I believe that right now the Lord God is urgently seeking to raise up intercessors – He is looking for them everywhere. He is looking for men and women who will pray for their neighbourhoods, churches who will pray for their areas, groups of churches who will pray for their cities and nation.
1 Timothy 2:8 (NLT)
“In every place of worship, I want men and women to pray with holy hands lifted up to God, …”
There was a terrible time in Israel’s history when they were even oppressing their own. This is before their captivity. The leaders of Israel were doing little to stop it, and in some instances were involved in the nation’s decline. And God speaks to Ezekiel about it …
Ezekiel 22:29-30 (NLT)
“Even common people oppress the poor, rob the needy, and deprive foreigners of justice. 30 “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.”
Things had become so bad that even common people were involved in so much injustice and wrong doing. God had looked everywhere to find someone who might “stand in the gap” – that’s ancient Hebrew idiom for intercession. He could not find anyone. When we stop to consider the impact of God’s statement of fact it is a shocking thing to accept. But it was true. The nation’s walls of righteousness were well and truly breached, and God couldn’t find a single person who would stand in the gap and intercede against the powers of darkness coming against His people. What was manifesting in the physical, visible realm, had its origins in the invisible, demonic realm and no one seemed to notice or care.
God tells Ezekiel that there was no one willing to take responsibility. He pours out His lament to the prophet. When Christians meet together to pray – even just two, or three – Jesus, the great intercessor, is also there. That is how seriously He takes intercession …
Matthew 18:20 (NIV) “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them."
This statement from Jesus has huge implications. One of them is that when we meet together to intercede and Jesus is with us, it is the critical place and moment when decisions are made. Think of an intercession meeting with Jesus as an executive committee meeting, or a war cabinet meeting. We are not meeting to ask permission; we are nor meeting to petition God; we are not meeting to worship – we’re meeting to make war on the enemy, undo his evil work and defeat him. This is aggressive prayer.
ONLY THE PEOPLE OF GOD CAN DO THIS!
No one else on earth has the authority – and thus the responsibility – to intercede for their area, their city, their nation and undo what no government can possible do with laws.
God is searching for intercessors – prayer warriors who will gather to pray and take responsibility to MAKE THE NECESARY DECISIONS that will defeat the enemy. This is the Church doing the work no one else on earth can do. And there is so much demonic manifestation in our city today that needs undoing and defeating! I cannot be any plainer about this. There are, I believe two great issues that have led to God’s people becoming so apathetic about intercession today. The first is what I have already outlined here – we don’t think it is our individual responsibility. Oh, but it is! The second is unbelief. Because many believers think that their intercessory contribution is of so little consequence they don’t even try. This is unbelief. This is exactly why Jesus said, “where two or three gather IN MY NAME …”
Your contribution to intercession is vital. When combined with other believers Jesus is right there, and what is more, when intercessors make decisions about the devil’s work that needs to be undone, must be undone, it is undone because Holy Spirit immediately goes to work to enforce these decisions (2 Thess. 2:7!). The sheer scale of the power of God’s people interceding is not limited to this earth. The whole context of Jesus’ statement was the undoing of demonic influence and power in the spiritual realm affecting earth.
Matthew 18:18-20 (NIV)
[Jesus] "Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. 19 Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them."
Wow! So much to discuss here. Do you see the sheer scale of the intercessory power of just two or three gathering with Jesus to pray?
I am calling everyone who can to come join us at 9:00 am on Sunday mornings for pre-worship rehearsal intercession for the worship service, and then to keep going in the War Room (MR-1) after that. To make war on what the enemy is doing to our people, our neighbourhood, our schools and our area. I’m calling everyone – you don’t have to have the spiritual gift of intercession, you just have to want to part of Jesus’ war cabinet, and make decisions. Please join our growing band at 9:00 am Sundays in the auditorium.
2 Chronicles 7:14 (NIV) “… if my people, who are called by my name ....”
Come intercede with me.
Ps Milton