Paul and friends: Intercessors

Their intercession was different than many intercessors today. Instead of interceding for nations and social issues, or trying to bind the devil over nations and cities, they focused on REAL PEOPLE whom they knew God wanted them to pray for: people either in relationship to them, or known to them thru others. Their intercession was in Kingdom order: God was connecting and covering all the joints and parts of the body in prayer. That is God’s Order. God works thru relationship: He saves that way, and He builds His Church and Kingdom that way, relationally.

Sure they prayed for civil authorities so that we can live peaceably (1 Tim. 2:1-2) and Paul interceded for his brothers in the flesh the Jewish people (Rom.10:1) but the predominant aspect of their intercession is that it was for specific believers by name. That was the fruit of the love of God.

But these days we have intercession movements which have very little in common with the way that Paul and friends interceded for their brethren. These days it is all grandiose ideas about taking over the world and binding the devil over the world, and transforming society thru prayer, but the early church did not pray that way. Even the Lord Jesus said that He didn’t pray for the world, but for those whom the Father had given Him (John 17:9).

So many times intercession is used as an escape from reality, from being committed to real brothers and sisters, from real relationship and laying down your life praying for them. Many people are afraid of such real relationships, and even don’t care much for it, they have more “important” things to do like saving the world from destruction, and the devil just laughs at them.

Consider Paul’s ministry of intercession:

Night and day praying exceedingly that we might see your face, and might perfect that which is lacking in your faith? Now God himself even our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you. 1Thess. 3:10-11

Or the intercession of Epaphras:

Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, greets you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. For I bear him witness, that he has a great zeal for you, and them that are in Laodicea and them in Hierapolis. Col. 4:12-13

They did not spend their time interceding for the world or for nations or even cities; they spent their time interceding for the people whom God had called out of the world and into the Body of Christ.

We MUST NOT abrogate or neglect our responsibility to pray for the brethren by going off and chasing the wind on a wild goose trail that leads nowhere, like Don Quixote chasing the windmills, for such is a delusion: it gives people the idea they are engaged in such crucial, vital work, and it leads to grandiose ideas about their own importance and to delusions of grandeur, feeding spiritual pride: they feel they are “special warriors” who are taking down powers and principalities over nations and cities, but those spirits just laugh at them. Even if you could cast the devil out of New York he would just go down to the next city and cause havoc there. It’s a joke, but no one is laughing.

So what we see transpiring here in the spiritual realm is that some of the very people who think they are waging spiritual war against satan are themselves the victims of his subtlety and he has rendered them ineffective by giving them a distraction, a decoy, a substitute, to keep them from the real work of the Kingdom and the edifying of the Body of Christ, and from maturing into the image of Christ.

The principle here is DISTRACTION: If the enemy can’t get a person into full blown sin then he tries to distract them with fruitless activities which have the appearance that they are “spiritual” and effective but they are simply a waste of time. He disarms the Church by distracting the Church.

To Every Generation

Pollyanna

In Christianity the “Pollyanna” thing is observed when Christians are not willing or not able to deal with the realities of life or the church, and they use “spiritual” things to try and escape reality rather than face it and deal with it. When you try and discuss the Word of God with them you can’t actually deal with reality, only their “construction” on reality, and many times it is the truth of God’s Word they are trying to avoid facing. You could call them “neurotic Christians”: they interpret the Bible according to their personal fears, and not in accordance with reality.

Oftentimes the “positive thinking” or “positive confession” or “super-positive outlook” thing is merely a mask to cover fears deep inside. Jesus never leads a person to put on a fake mask and hide behind it, He always leads us to confront our fears and deal with them by His truth and grace. He doesn’t cover our fears with a fake smile or with fake, plastic smile TV preachers, rather, He destroys our fears by consuming them with His love, power and glory.

And this is where the “itching ears” thing comes in (2 Tim.4:3) : People listening only to preachers who will tell them what they want to hear. When they deem the truth as being “negative” then they don’t want to hear it. They are a lot like Pollyanna.

The washing of water by the word

Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. Ephesians 5:25-27

The washing of water by the word…

Now you are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. John 15:3

We should never underestimate the power of the Word of God, when we read or hear it, and receive it and believe it, to be like water washing away the dirt and making us clean.

Our text says that Jesus Himself will wash His Church and make it a glorious Church, and He will do it by sending His Word, and this will sanctify and cleanse His Church.

And this is why the enemy causes people to ignore the Scriptures, or go seeking some new message, or anything but receive the washing of water by the word.

We can say that the modern trend in Christianity is for anything and everything EXCEPT the washing of water by the word, and this is why we don’t see a ...glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

Born and bred in captivity

Someone used the analogy of traditional church as being like a Zoo: Like, animals may be happy in a Zoo, but they are still in captivity. So people may be happy with unBiblical church, but that may simply be because they haven’t experienced anything else.

Now, people probably wouldn’t listen to you if you called their church a Zoo, but the analogy is spot on: Animals born in captivity don’t really know they are in captivity, BUT there must something deep down inside them telling them, “Uh uh, this aint right. I don’t know what it is but there’s something not right.” That’s how I felt after I got saved and attended the institutional church for two years.

Simply read the New Testament and KNOW that that’s the way it was always supposed to have been.

The spirit of confusion

When you have contact with a confused Christian the spiritual dynamic is that they tend to draw you into their confusion, and it actually turns out to be a spiritual battle.

The word Babylon actually means confusion. (See Rev 17)

But one of the foremost traits of true regeneration and the abiding of the Spirit of Truth is a sound mind, and a mind which is in the process of being renewed by the Word of God (2 Tim. 1:7, Rom. 12:1-2).

If any professing Christian doesn’t have a sound mind, that is, they are unable to intelligently discuss and articulate the Scriptures; they are not able to string thoughts together in a logical sequence, it’s usually due to a heart problem, lack of honesty, lack of integrity, they never came to love the Truth.

Even the total ignoramus, if he is honest, and if his heart is pure, can put forth a logical argument or position for Scripture truth and will not twist the Scriptures around to suit his ego, or to gain any personal advantage, or to be popular, or to get people to give him money, or to further his career in the religion business.

And a highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for others: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. Isaiah 35:8

Even a fool, if he walks the Highway of Holiness, will not go into error. So it’s not about how smart you are, it’s about holiness and the fear of God.

Weak Vessels

Does it offend you, or cause you to stumble, to know that God uses weak vessels? It’s such an offense to the pride of man when God chooses weak vessels to speak thru. The natural, proud man wants God to speak thru strong vessels, thru those whom he emulates and desires to be like, those who are popular, rich and powerful, influential, who mirror all his aspirations.

Then some nobody comes along and God speaks thru him, and it is an offense to his pride.

And this is partly why the message of the Cross is foolishness to the world and a stumbling block.

1 Cor. 1:27

The Blessed Hope versus the False Hope

Re: “Christians changing this world back to what God intended.” …….But the Bible says that won’t happen. What the Bible says will happen is that the whole world will come under a false spirit and form a one world religion under the banner of peace, love and unity, but there will be a remnant who cleave to the true Jesus, and then there will be a great tribulation, and God will pour out His judgment on the earth, He will kill one third of humanity, one third of the vegetation burned up, and before God’s wrath comes down those who love the real Jesus will be caught up in the air to meet Him. The blessed hope is to be taken out of this world. There is no hope of changing this world back to what God intended. He wants to change us back to what He intended, and how can He do that if we don’t believe what Scripture says?

To not believe God’s Word once you’ve heard it is actually to become an accuser of God, it is to accuse Him of being a liar. Which is exactly why the Great Tribulation will come, bcos the whole world will have heard the truth of Jesus and chose to reject Him, and anyone who does not believe what Jesus said is judging Him and accusing Him.

But the kicker is that the whole world doesn’t think they have rejected Jesus. In fact, the one world religion will embrace a “jesus”, just as apostate christianity already embraces a “jesus” who is not the Jesus of the Bible.

It is the blessed hope versus the false hope. The blessed hope rests upon what Jesus has said He will do, the false hope rejects the words of Jesus and rests upon what man thinks he can do, and runs back to the Tower of Babel.

Systemic Corruption

Isn’t a system corrupt if corrupt people are able to work their way up into the top positions?

(See Rev 17)

Only one problem with it

Was just remembering a teaching I heard about 20 years ago, and I thought it was good, and I accepted it, and even began to tell others, but something was nagging me deep inside that something is wrong with it. I wanted to believe it, but somehow the Holy Spirit would not give His “clearance” on it. Then I had to come to terms with the reality that the reason the Holy Spirit in me would never allow me to have peace about this teaching was simply due to the fact that this particular teaching was not true, it was a lie. That’s the only problem with it, it’s not true. Then He showed me in the Word why it was not true.

Could sin ever make you truly happy?

Just sit down and consider this thought for a few moments:

Could sin ever make you truly happy?

Well, could it? Is it possible that you could keep sinning and find the peace, love, joy, fulfillment and happiness your heart desires?

That would be the futile emptiness of trying to be happy apart from Jesus Christ.

If you never sinned again for the rest of your life, till the day you die, do you think you would be missing out on anything?

If you think back to anytime you’ve sinned since you’ve been born-again, what was the fruit of it? Did it make you happy? Are you glad you sinned those times, or do you regret it now?

Most of my posts are addressed to born-again disciples of Jesus, and this post in particular to those who are struggling with resisting temptation, to examine the fruit of our ways; we have tasted the Lord is good, and we have tasted the pleasures of sin, so asking the question, “Could sin ever make you truly happy?” helps to peel away the illusion which sin hides behind; removes the mask, the cloak of disguise, removes the illusion, exposes the true nature of sin, that the happiness or fulfillment it offers and promises is a lie, what the Bible calls, “the deceitfulness of sin”, that it is, in itself, a lie, a deceit, a deception, a delusion, which only the Word of Truth and the Holy Spirit can unmask.

If you have sinned and you feel really bad, that is the Holy Spirit telling you that sin is really bad.

If you sin and you don’t feel bad, that’s simply cos you don’t have the Holy Spirit in you to convict you of sin, and you are not a child of God yet, so you need to come to repentance and be born-again by faith in Jesus Christ. Unless you are born again you will be lost forever, will end up in hell forever, Jesus said.

Jesus actually chose to have no possessions

In the context of modern Christianity this would not translate. If there was a preacher who, like Jesus, chose to have no possessions, and he came to the Prosperity Preachers Convention they would feel sorry for the guy, or assume he has no faith, or assume he’s a failure, but they will never be able to comprehend that a Christian could actually choose to have nothing in this world, that would be outside the orbit of their thinking and reasoning and even alien to their consciousness, bcos covetous people think their life consists of the things they possess: all their identity and self-worth is tied up in that.

Jesus could have been the wealthiest man in the world. Actually, that is the deal the devil offered Him, remember that? But He chose another way.

There are many brilliant men and women of God today who could have become very wealthy in business, but they chose not to be, they chose something else. Only people who know Jesus will understand.

Angels adore Him

LORD Jesus: …Angels bow down before you, they worship and adore you…

Could sin ever make you truly happy?

Just sit down and consider this thought for a few moments:

Could sin ever make you truly happy?

Well could it? Is it possible that you could keep sinning and find the peace, love, joy, fulfillment and happiness you desire?

That would be the futile emptiness of trying to be happy apart from Jesus Christ.

The Lord’s Prayer

Please see Comments

You are the King of Glory!

…Angels bow down before you, they worship and adore you…

Facebook

Anyone want to connect on Facebook? facebook.com/ian.vincent.5

Don’t worry about Obama

Forget about politics and trying to change society. Don’t think it has anything to do with advancing the Kingdom of God.

http://www.wretchedradio.com/player/dailyclip/dailyclip-20130124.mp3

Even when the Antichrist eventually steps up to the plate and declares himself to be the leader of the world we are not to be worried. Not even to lose 5 minutes sleep over it. Yawn, he’s dead meat!

Only the authority of Scripture trumps the devil’s power

To the degree that you don’t respect the authority of …It is written... to that degree the enemy can play games with you. (See Matt. 4:3-10)

Only the authority of Scripture trumps the devil’s power. Only by respecting, believing and submitting to the Truth of …It is written... can a believer stand and not fall, just like the LORD Jesus stood immovable when the enemy came and challenged His love of the Truth, and challenged His stance toward the Scriptures.

Whether a believer stands or falls ultimately depends upon their regard for …It is written…

Satan questions, Has God said? Hmmm? Did He really say that? Does He really mean that? (Genesis 3:1)

You say you love me…

You say you love me, and you say you want to worship me, but you do not love my Words, you do not love my Truth or my Commands, you do not love my Holiness and my Purity, you do not love my people, you do not live by every word which proceeds from the mouth of God, and you even love the world, and things which I detest, and you love lies and those who teach them, who lead my people astray and leech their money off them, so how can I believe it when you say you love me? ~ Jesus