Isaiah 64 a

[Music] so isaiah chapter 64. the intercessor i want to talk just a little bit on what is intercessory prayer you see in chapter 63 the lord was speaking through the prophet isaiah and the people of god were experiencing a time in which they needed a word from the lord in the first several verses of isaiah 63 we see the condition of the people and we see that the lord was reminded that a day would come where he will deal with the wickedness the judgment would come and ultimately even futuristically judgment will come to all wickedness in other words we do wait and we anticipate not only the return of our lord but we also anticipate the day in which god will deal with every unjust act that ever took place on this earth as the result of sin we without a doubt live in a fallen world and often time the question is asked of me pastor why does god allow babies to suffer why did my loved one pass away why did this sickness befall upon me or my family or this need or whatever this crisis or not only that maybe on a more broader scale why does god allow suffering in this part of the world in that part of the world and or persecution and all of these things and and the question is why does god why does god why does god the answer is very simple though it is a very serious and very um heartfelt question the answer is very simple it's not god it's sin and what you see today is the result of what sin has caused remember in the book of genesis in chapters one and two everything that god created he said and it was good and it was good and it was good all that god is is good but when you get into genesis chapter three you see very clearly that the scriptures go on to state cursed is the ground cursed is the earth as the result of sin we see that everything even man himself that which created was created in the image of god now was being separated from god so we see in the garden of eden remember adam and eve were not able to enter in after they fell into sin why because sin separates us from god sin separates fellowship with god the privileged position that adam and eve once had in fellowship with god was compromised and separated because of sin and so what we see here is now that sin has entered the world and we live in what is called now a fallen world will all this be reconciled absolutely it's called redemption it's called salvation it's called the work of god and this is what we're seeing here in the first six verses that the lord god will judge unrighteousness in a sense it is prophecy the day is going to come when the wrath of god will be poured out and he will judge it some find their comfort in knowing that one day all the wrongs will be made right it might not happen in your day and you might not experience it in your circumstance but overall god's purpose and plan is to do that ultimately this is what god does he is our vindicator he is our righteous judge he is faithful to do what he says he will do in his word and so the vengeance of the lord we see here in verses one through six of isaiah 63 is on his enemies and we talked that about that in great length last week who are the enemies of god and then as a result of this we see god's mercy remembered by isaiah isaiah begins to intercede remember chapter 63 starts with two questions in verse 1 who is this one who comes from edom and verse 2 why is your apparel red who is this one that comes it's the lord god and why is his apparel red because he's coming in judgment like in the book of revelation where we see the garments of christ stained with the blood of judgment it's the same picture here now we see isaiah interceding as an intercessor as intercessor and he is persistent we see that the intercessor then recounts the lord's history of love towards his people we also see in verse 10 of chapter 63 that the intercessor confesses sin that's very important when one intercedes and or prays the confessing of sin and the intercessor confesses his sin and the sins of the people then we also see in verse 11 that the intercessor he prays based on the lord's history with his people knowing that god is faithful and will intercede and then we closed with the intercessor then he begins to lament over the lord's discipline and he begins to in his intercessing prayer begin to say lord i understand why you discipline your children the bible says very clearly in the book of hebrews that in chapter 12 that discipline comes from the lord god on his children if you claim to be a child of god hebrews 12 says and you're not disciplined or experiencing the chastening of the lord it's a clear indication you're not a child of god so in a sense there's one way to see our legitimacy as his children then we see here in chapter 64 the intercession continues and in verses one through 5 the intercessor pleads for god to descend and i think that the prayer is beginning to build up and becoming stronger and stronger and so the thought and the idea of the intercessor well in the context of isaiah 63 and 64 the intercessor is isaiah himself the lord speaks in verses 1 through 6 of chapter 63 isaiah begins to intercede and in chapter 64 is probably one of the greatest intercessory prayers on the topic of revival we know that god's wrath and judgment is coming but now here's a prayer pleading that god will do a work among his people and the nations so that they can be delivered and set free and this actually is what would be considered the job of an and quite simply put intercessory prayer is the is the very act of praying on behalf of others we are interceding and this role of mediator that we see here that isaiah is doing in prayer is something that is very prevalent throughout the old testament most of these prophets and many of the old testament saints were intercessors men like abraham and moses and david and samuel hezekiah elijah jeremiah ezekiel and daniel and here we see isaiah interceding for his people i want us to understand in the new testament christ becomes that intercessor for you and me in romans chapter 8 and verse 34 the bible says who is to condemn christ jesus is the one who died more than that who was raised who is at the right hand of god who indeed is interceding for us he's interceding for us jesus like hebrews chapter 7 and verse 25 intercedes for you and for me there's a need for jesus is interceding for us now think about it what great encouragement when people come and say hey you know what i've been praying for you i've been i've been seeking the lord on your behalf the bible says in hebrews chapter 7 and verse 25 therefore he is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to god through him since listen to this he always lives to make intercession for them to make intercession for them now if you notice that we do need an intercessor why because the bible says in revelation chapter 12 in verse 10 it reminds us of our need and the bible says here and i heard a loud voice saying in heaven now have come salvation and strength and the kingdom of our god and the power of his christ for the accuser of our brethren is cast down who accused them before our god day and night the accuser of the brethren is none other than satan himself as a matter of fact we also see this other description of the accuser of the brethren and look at what the bible describes as this great deceiver who accuses us notice that revelation 12 10 says day and night listen those who see you will gaze at you and consider you saying is this the man who made the earth tremble who shook kingdoms who made the world as a wilderness and destroyed its cities who did not open the house of his prisoners in isaiah chapter 14 what we see here in verses 16 and 17 is that description of satan the one who fell and it's saying here that many will say is this the one who caused us to tremble is this the one who caused the nations and the world to be made a wilderness and the bible says very clearly that that same one is this one who accuses us day and night he is called the accuser of the brethren so this is why there's a need for christ to be our intercessor so as satan himself is accusing you and i day and night jesus is seated at the right hand of the father romans chapter 8 verse 34 hebrews chapter 7 verse 25 and he is interceding as satan's accusations are coming against you jesus's intercession is fighting for you and the beauty of all of this is what better way than to have someone pray for you or intercede for you than jesus himself isn't that remarkable that as the church guys listen christ is interceding on our behalf now we often say things like we want to be like jesus well let me tell you one of the aspects of being like christ here and god gives us the power to do so by the power of the holy spirit is that we are to be intercessors ourself there is one mediator the bible says between god and men first timothy chapter 2 and verse 5 says for there is one god and one mediator between god and men the man christ jesus the one who intercedes for you and i and this wonderful model of intercessory prayer is found in the book of daniel probably one of the greatest prophecies in the old testament the 70 weeks of daniel but we see daniel interceding this is what brought about this great prophetic portion of scripture in the old testament but notice in daniel chapter 9 it has all the elements of what true intercessory prayer is and what is it in regards to being a response to the word of god we see here that that's exactly what intercessory prayer is it's characterized by fervency it's not something that is done lightly or in a state of a flippant attitude but it's done with fervency it's done with self-denial we see this also in isaiah in chapter six it is calling we also see that it's identified unselfishly with god's people in other words we don't intercede and think that as we are praying oh god help them they're just terrible people no god help us we are terrible people it's strengthened by confession and here we see that when isaiah began to intercede here what did he do in verse 10 of chapter 63 he began to confess sin as a matter of fact when we get into chapter 64 at the close of verse 5 listen to this guys at the beginning of verse 6 what do we see here once again a confession of sins you see this is really important when all of this begins to take place we see also too that in daniel chapter nine in verse two verse three verse four as you're looking at this verses five through fifteen we see that it's strengthened by confession and then we also see in these same verses that this intercessory prayer of daniel is dependent upon god's character it has as its goal god's glory in the rest of daniel's prayer in chapter 9 and verses 16 through 19. intercessory prayer leads to god's glory you and i as believers like daniel listen church we are to become those who intercede we're to come to god on behalf of the body of christ on behalf of others but we're to come in a heartbroken attitude we're to come in humility we're to come before the lord god in self-denial we don't come and say i have the right to demand this out of you god and listen that's how a lot of people pray this false teaching of you gotta name it and you gotta claim it you gotta tell god what you want and when you want it and and believe him for it as if god is a genie in a bottle who performs tricks for us so that we could live comfortably on this earth as if as if believing god for a million dollars is going to make you more spiritual but there are people that live their lives that way and view god that way and i'm not saying a few or a handful there are masses within christian doom that claim that it's not biblical that's not intercessory prayer jesus never named it and claimed it jesus never blabbed it and grabbed it jesus is seated at the right hand of the father forever making intercession so if christ intercedes on behalf of his bride and we are to be christ-like we intercede one of the greatest prayers that jesus prayed i mean really think about what jesus said for the church in john chapter 17 we call this the holy of holies right in the new testament the priestly prayer and i love what jesus does in john chapter 17 in verse 5 he says father glorify me that i might glorify you and bring me back to the fellowship that we once had before the world began glorify me that i might glorify you well what jesus was speaking about was his glorification on this earth was the cross give me the strength so that i can do your will so that at my death and resurrection you get the glory and i love what he says this he says father and he begins to pray for the church they are in this world but they are not of this world then he says father keep them in your love how did we get now to telling god what to do for us and give us money give us health give us wealth it's called the prosperity gospel anybody ever heard of that false teaching that's doctrine of demons there's no such thing as prosperity gospel in the bible it's a lie but the prosperity gospel claims to be the intercessory ministry of the church today where does jesus ever pray a false teaching like this never we pray that his will be done and ultimately what's god's next will to be done as the scriptures as we read here isaiah's plea is lord judge this earth the desire here is that when god's wrath is poured out guess what it does here it creates an opportunity for others to come and know the lord god as deliverer and savior intercessory is always directing people to the lord god it's always directing people to the glory of god now i want us to understand this very truth we need to be humble when we come before the lord god heartbroken in a repentant attitude recognizing our own unworthiness and this sense of self-denial we don't have the right to demand anything from the lord true intercessory prayer church seeks not only to know god's will and see it fulfilled but it also is to see it fulfilled whether or not it benefits us regardless of what it costs us true intercessory prayer seeks god's glory not our own all throughout scripture 843 000 words in this book here intercessory prayer always seeks god's glory not our own you know in all of this here we have a portion that we can gather from scripture on inner this is what isaiah is doing in any way do you see isaiah praying for himself lord give me health give me wealth do you see that at all in this intercessory prayer did you see it in daniel's prayer no did you see it in jesus prayer in john 17 no so where did this come from today we obviously know it doesn't come from scripture you remember the prayer of jabez remember that oh the prosperity false preachers really got a hold of that wrote a little book called the prayer of jabez you can buy it at walmart and you got people now going everywhere saying oh extend our you know broaden our territory you know extend our tent lord that's not intercession that's praying to a jesus that doesn't exist the following is only a partial list guys listen to this and get ready to jot this down it's a partial list for those to whom we are to offer intercessory prayer we're supposed to intercede for all those who are in authority first timothy chapter 2 and verse 2. someone asked me some years ago why do you pray for our president if you don't agree with him and i my response was before i answer your question i need to ask you a question when have you ever heard me over the pulpit disagree with this president never so why are you assuming that i disagree with him well because you're a christian and if you're a christian you have to this this this and that i says listen my job is to not be political over the pulpit and to agree or disagree with the president my job as a christian is to pray for them regardless of who they are well did you vote for him i says that's none of your business but whether i vote or not which i believe christians should vote and you should and i did i says ultimately at the end of the day whoever becomes president is who god appoints and sometimes god would appoint evil leaders over his people because that's what his people wanted so he gave them what they wanted and boy did we not want a certain man we claimed he was the savior of the world and he was nothing close to it the lord showed us i think a lot a man can't save this nation only jesus can in all of this guys i will always pray for every president that's in office and and i told him this i go i pray for him because the bible says i'm supposed to i'm supposed to intercede and then they say yeah and i always wonder too you always say and i pray for this president that he would repent of his sin i go because he's a sinner just like the one before him was don't be fooled in thinking that we had an evangelical christian president it's yet to take place that'll probably be world war iii if that ever happened but anyways we pray for those who are in authority the bible says in philippians chapter one in verse 19 that we are to pray for ministers we are to intercede for those in ministries those that minister in psalm 122 and verse 6 we're to pray for jerusalem we're to pray for god's work why because ultimately scripturally speaking it's the epicenter of not only the world but a bible prophecy in job chapter 42 and verse 6 we are to pray for friends people that are near and dear to our heart also our nation fellow countrymen romans chapter 10 and verse 1. in james chapter 5 and verse 4 we're to pray for the sick so we pray for the sick here's another thing when you read the scriptures read what they say i always share this story when we get to the book of james because i've had this issue before where there was a person that i hadn't seen in church for a while and then they came and i says oh man you know praise god it's good to see you you know this and that and they were kind of upset with me and i said you know is everything all right they says well everything's all right now but i didn't hear from you in this whole time that i wasn't here you didn't come and you didn't pray for me i was sick and i says well i did pray for you i probably didn't go i was wondering where you're at this is why i'm asking you you know but i get what they were saying i says well i want to help you with something obviously you're here you're still going to receive from me i just want to share a verse with you and i began to read that verse in james where it says to call upon the elders to lay hands on the sick i said you were actually supposed to call me so that i can go and lay hands on you did you call me no i said well there it is there oh i said well oh now you know what to do next time hey as i always say to my kids a closed mouth doesn't get fed right you have not because you well there it is there and we will get others out there if not myself others will go and we'll pray but you got to call upon the elders of the church to lay hands on you that's what the bible says to do just a little food for thought there right you guys are going to go around be like a closed mouth doesn't get fed pastor dave says you can also say a hard head makes a soft butt too i should tell my kids that all the time we're supposed to intercede for our enemies oh here we go jeremiah 29 7 you cannot get away from this for the sick james 5 14 our enemies jeremiah 29 7 and those who persecute us matthew chapter 5 verse 44. those who forsake us second timothy chapter 4 verse 16 and if that's not enough all men first timothy chapter 2 verse 1. there is what we would call an erroneous idea in contemporary christianity that those who offer up intercessory prayer are a special class of super christians called by god to a specific ministry of intercession that is not true the bible is very clear that all christians are called to be intercessors all christians have the holy spirit in their hearts as he intercedes in accordance with god's will that's what the bible says in romans chapter 8 and verses 26 and 27 likewise the spirit helps us not a special class not intercessors only us the implication is the body of christ in our weakness for we do not know what to pray for as we ought but the spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words and he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the spirit because the spirit intercedes for us in all of this guys we are all called to be intercessors every single one of them first samuel chapter 12 verse 23 goes on to say for as as for me far be it from me that i should sin against the lord by failing to pray for you that's to everybody both peter and paul when asking others to intercede for them he didn't limit their request to those who had a special calling he didn't say where are the intercessors at the bible says in acts chapter 12 and verse 5 so peter was kept in prison but the church was earnestly praying for god praying to god for him notice that the whole church prayed for him not just those with the gift of intercession in ephesians chapter 6 and verses 16 and 18 paul exhorts every believer the ephesian believers of all men and all those who experience the fundamentals of the christian life to come to a time in which intercession included to pray on all occasion with all kinds of prayers and requests clearly intercessory prayer is part of the christian life for all believers so i want us to understand why intercession is so important paul sought prayer on behalf of the roman believers in romans chapter 15 verse 30. he also urged the believers at colossae to intercede for him in colossians chapter 4 and verse 2 and 3. and i want us to understand that nowhere in any biblical request for intercession is there any indication that only a certain group of people could intercede on the contrary those who seek others to intercede for them can use all the help they can get intercession is a privilege it's a calling of all christians not just some but god calls christians to be intercessors and it's god's desire listen to this that all believers it's god's desires that all believers every single one of you here this morning begin to intercede for others what does isaiah do here he intercedes as a matter of fact it goes on to say here oh that you would rend the heavens that you would come down that the mountains might shake at your presence when you look at verse 1 here of chapter 64 on this understanding of what an intercessor is isaiah's interceding he is fully in-depth praying on behalf of the people but notice what he's doing here he has a strong desire to see god at work do we pray just for a specific task for god to fulfill or is there a true desire for us to see god at work as a matter of fact in the original language verse 1 of chapter 64 in the hebrew grammar is actually in the past tense when you read it in the original language the idea there is oh that you would oh that you had only that you had oh that you already done tore open the heavens in other words there's an invitation to come down it's kind of like the thought that we sometimes say oh god if you would have only just done this then we wouldn't be in this situation that's really the thought there in his prayer the intercession is or a deep desire to see god at work and he's saying ren the heavens that means tear open the heavens the place where his throne is he's not saying oh god you know just part the clouds or or god let us see outer space no he's saying lord open rip it wide open so that we can gaze upon your throne imagine the power and the majesty in all of this the idea here with the past tense even in the greek grammar the implication is this guys the idea is that it would happen suddenly that it would happen swiftly so that all will see the glory of god his prayer is that god would descend you know sometimes we pray this for people there are people that i have maybe prayed for or witnessed to and there is that thought that comes to my mind that man lord if you could just come down and just show up right in front of them i just love to see the look on their face the thought is kind of the desire here for but but you know what this is what i always say as much as we have that desire for someone to believe god has a way of bringing everyone to their knees every person will hit a point in their life where they have nowhere else to turn but god and it's their choice god will bring one to their knees and here this is the prayer and the idea here that you would come down that the mountains might shake at your presence listen he's not saying oh god you know come and shake the mountains he's speaking about what god has already done god shook the mountain remember they were in exodus chapter 19. we know the story very well as as moses brought the law down you know they seen thunder and lightning did they not the mountain shook even so much so as you read a little bit further that even if an animal a beast even touched the base of the mountain he would be stoned to death he would die and then what if the people say to moses they says we've seen the thunder we've seen the lightning we've seen the the mountain quake and they says you know what we don't want to talk to god moses you talk to god whatever he tells you we will do what happened the power and the presence and the glory of god not only shook the mountain but it shook the faith it shook the heart of god's people he's saying lord the only hope for this people is what comes directly from your throne rend open the heavens remember we talked last week about god's love and his wrath at the same level his love flows from his throne his wrath flows from his throne and we've seen in revelation where the bible says that there are those saints in heaven that in chapter 6 right verse 10 what do they say how long o lord will you avenge our blood heaven is waiting for god's vindication against the unjust all these believers you know there were what a little bit over a million christians in the middle east and from the time that we entered the middle east in a war desert storm being the first and we've continued on this last war that we were there in afghanistan what 20 years right over and over in the middle east listen to this guys 20 20 years in one area and and and then before that desert storm i mean there's so much in all of this you know that in that time frame there were over a million christians if not more and now less than a hundred thousand throughout the entire middle east majority of them as we've seen all over for the purpose of those that claim jihad and all this against you know infidels christians are included as being infidels and what this country has seen and many others the church many believers martyred for their faith we all know how their number one mode of martyrdom is beheading him that blood that was spilled will be avenged it will be avenged you see in isaiah's day it was the babylonian empire coming in and taking the people of judah captive ravaging the city and completely destroying the temple in our day we see the injustices as a result of sin and we cry out and we say oh lord if you would just act now and we even thank god if there's a good time for you to come back it's right now because a lot of people will believe we intercede the same way we should be praying and interceding you should be praying and interceding but in all of this we shouldn't be like sick of god we should be praying for god's glory to be revealed and we should be confessing our own sin because we're no different intercession is humility before the lord god that you would come down that the mountains might shake at your presence as fire burns brush wood as fire causes water to boil to make your name known to your adversaries boy i love this that the nations may tremble at your presence when you did when you did awesome things look at that the only thing that works is god's intervention we call it what an act of god don't we look at what the bible says here in the book of deuteronomy i love this passage because it just reminds us here of this great work in deuteronomy chapter 10 and verse 21 it says he is your praise he is your god who has done for you these great and awesome things which your eyes have seen you know one of the greatest acts of god for me church i'll tell you this right now one of the greatest act of god for me is what took place yesterday at this funeral i did an altar call i gave an invitation and many people came to faith in christ and many recommitted their lives to christ see i look at this service today first service here at church and i look around and what i see is an act of god you might not think you're an act of god some people say you probably are an act all right but you are an act of god if you think that by any means that you're a christian because you come to church you're wrong you were born again because of god's doing not your doing you can't save yourself and the problem with the church today is they don't see themselves as an act of god they don't see themselves as one who god has rescued we do quite well telling everybody what we once were and what we now are and in some way to take some credit for us we we wow them as to how bad we were before very ridiculous i don't like testimonies they're bragimonies but the power of god in a testimony is what's important that we know beyond a shadow of a doubt as paul would say to the church at corinth i am what i am by the grace of god they knew that paul was a murderer they knew that paul was vicious they knew that he was saul of tarsus and when saul spoke to his young protege timothy he said i did all of these things in ignorance i killed people in ignorance that i am what i am by the grace of god this murderer of believers wrote the majority of the new testament an act of god this is what isaiah is praying in christ we've seen the heavens open with a dove descending upon jesus jesus is the one who brings us in the new covenant for you and i with the heavens opening up at his baptism in mark chapter 1 and verse 10. but we also see later on the heavens open up again not at the baptism of jesus but at the death of stephen in acts chapter 7 in verses 56 through 60 and what do we see jesus standing ready to receive him into heaven the dove of grace our lord of grace as the heavens are opened up what do we see the grace of god being given god have mercy god have grace lord show your power show your glory that you god will work on behalf of your people the lord will do at his time when you did awesome things for which we did not look you came down the mountain shook at your presence notice something here so he's saying so come down again and reveal your awesome power to the nations don't we want the lord to come now anybody ever say that we talked about it last week maranatha come lord jesus quickly come why doesn't he come now second peter chapter three verse nine we looked at this last week god's not slack concerning his promises as some count slackness he's not willing that any perish but that all come to repentance how will people come to repentance if we're not interceding that's a good thought we need to intercede verse 4 he goes on to say for since the beginning of the world men have not heard nor proceed by ear the ear nor has the eye seen any beside you i love this this is where paul kind of gets that thought and that idea to the corinthian believers remember when he tells them no eye has seen no ear has heard the wonderful things that god has for those who love him men have not heard nor perceived by the ear nor has the i seen any god beside you who acts for the one who waits for him wow you know the privilege of waiting on the lord many of the psalms and the proverbs and many other books of the bible we find commands to wait on the lord the bible says in psalm 27 and verse 14 wait on the lord be of good courage and he shall strengthen your heart wait i say on the lord when we think about this you know we have a difficulty of waiting for god we intercede we pray patient confident trust in the lord is the central idea that you and i receive this exhortation to wait on the lord the entire psalm psalm 27 man just jot it down for your own personal notes learn of what it says here this is a prayer for god to help well this is the intercession here that isaiah is saying as well and throughout this psalm we see the eloquence of this prayer david expresses authentic faith david is praying that god will help and we also see his courageous trust in god notice something that we see here that it's based on david's confident expectation that god will rescue and save him in time of trouble first thing you can see in psalm 27 is very clear that to wait on the lord is by trusting in him david expressed this great confidence in the lord and david said it in this way who is light salvation and a stronghold you know in all of this guys we can see this dynamic trust in the lord you and i need to have this trust in the lord and what does it do it dispels fear it dispels despair look at verses two and three of psalm 27 when the wicked advance against me to devour me it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall though an army besiege me my heart will not fear the war break out against me even then i will be confident david expresses this and we can wait on the lord by seeking him we trust him we wait upon him and we also trust him by longing to be with him to commune with god in his presence and to worship him at his temple look at what he says in psalm 27 and verse 4 one thing i ask from the lord this only do i seek that i may dwell in the house of the lord all the days of my life to gaze on the beauty of the lord and to seek him in his temple there's no greater joy than confident believing that one day we will be in fellowship with the lord see in god's dwelling place praising and worshiping the lord david felt safe and secure look at what he says in verses five and six for in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me at his sacred tent i will sacrifice with the lord shouts of joy i will sing and make music to the lord we can wait on the lord through prayer david waited for the lord and he had an eager expectation of deliverance david asked god for wisdom in verse 11 he also asked god for protection in verse 12. holy believing that he would see the goodness of the lord in the land of the living in psalm 25 in verse 3 the bible says indeed none who wait for you shall be put to shame those who wait on the lord shall not be put to shame this is what we see isaiah doing here in chapter 64 and verse 4. this is the confidence that we have in approaching god in intercessory prayer as we wait that if we seek anything according to his will guess what guys he hears us first john chapter 5 verse 14. and the bible also says in isaiah chapter 40 this passage we've already studied in verse 31 that not only are we confident but we also can be renewed our strength isaiah chapter 40 and verse 31 waiting on the lord renews our strength in psalm chapter 40 and verses one through three we see that waiting on the lord by trusting in seeking and praying and establishing our faith brings us serenity and stability i waited patiently for the lord he turned to me heard my cry lifted me out of the slimy pit out of the mud and mire he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand he put a new song in my mouth a hymn of praise to our god many will see and fear the lord and put their trust in him do you see now what intercessory and waiting on the lord does it all brings glory to the lord this passage here affirms very clearly here that waiting on the lord is a testimony to others who will see our faith as a result they put their trust in god waiting on the lord brings god's blessing since ancient times we listen to this we see all throughout the word as he stated here in isaiah 64 no no one has heard no ear has perceived no eye has seen any god beside you who acts on behalf of those who wait for him i want you guys to understand that waiting on the lord has many many benefits we intercede and we give up too quickly why because we say that waiting on god is not only difficult but sometimes it seems impossible we want things to happen in our own timing and according to our own plans but god doesn't operate according to our schedules and expecting that he will set one up for us he in a sense we say god will disappoint us waiting on god means going without answers to your prayers wondering why the wicked seemed to prosper and having desires delayed and hope deferred but god has a greater perspective of life and life's events and his perspective and plans and schedules are perfect and not only are they perfect but they are holy because he is perfect and holy the bible says in psalm chapter 18 and verse 30 he says as for god his way is perfect if god's ways are perfect then you and i if you believe that with all of your heart then you and i can trust whatever he does and whatever his timing is when we grasp the fact that waiting on god is not only made less difficult it actually becomes joyful boy some people really really miss the benefits of waiting upon the lord since the beginning of the world men have not heard nor perceived by the ear nor seen any god beside you who acts for the ones who waits for him god acts for the ones who wait for him you meet him who rejoices and does righteousness who remembers you in your ways now as in his holiness and in his power we see our need look it you are indeed angry for we have sin you know what i love about intercessors there's not one intercessor that's without sin and these listen to what he says in these ways we continue and we need to be saved why because but we are all like an unclean thing all our righteousness are like filthy rags wow so the intercessor pleads for god to descend the intercessor now confesses sin again our righteousness are like filthy rags we all fade as a leaf and our iniquities like the wind have taken us away wow we fade as a leaf and our iniquity our sins separates us from god you know that whole picture of you know your righteousness of filthy rags that just the word filthy rags there there's no other way to put it my translation says here a filthy garment in the original hebrew it says a woman's menstrual rag that's the picture and the idea the filth of that that's our righteousness before the lord something you and i need to understand is that there is nothing in us that in any way makes us right with god and people will lie to you oh if you just have this faith if you just do this if you just do that if you just join this church this denomination this group oh if you go to church this and you do this and all these things they're going to give you all of this that's your righteous acts those are things you can do and if they're telling you that by doing these things you're being made right with god you've been given a false gospel the only thing that makes us right with god listen the only thing is what jesus did 2000 years ago that's why he died on the cross the only thing you have to offer is your sin that's it what does it say here but we are all like unclean thing and all our righteousness are like filthy rags we all fade as a leaf and our iniquities like the wind have taken us away so the intercessor must intercede verses one through five the intercessor must intercede in faith verses one through four and the intercessor must intercede in repentance verses five through seven and there is no one who calls on your name who stirs himself up to take hold of you from you for you have hidden your face from us and have consumed us because of our iniquities no one takes hold of you but you know what in the finished work of christ we can we must guys listen call on the name of the lord and we must stir ourselves up to take hold of the lord but he says no one does listen to this in hebrews chapter 10 in verse 20 it says by a new and living way which he consecrated for us though the veil that is his flesh by in you and christ consecrated it for us to take hold of you the finished work of christ that's how we take hold of the lord not any other way and i love that look at again hebrews chapter 10 verse 20 by a new and living way that's where we got the name of the church living way so the lord named this church not me but now oh lord hear the intercessor from confessing sin moves to plead for god to act but now o lord you are our father we are the clay you are the potter notice the focus of the intercessor is on god who is able he is the potter we are the clay and all we are the work of your hand you are the potter i am the clay mold me and make me this is what i pray do not be furious o lord nor remember iniquity forever indeed please look we all are your people on behalf know what he's saying he's saying here act on behalf of your sinful people wow i'm thankful that god acts on behalf of his sinful people is there anybody here that's without sin any sinless people here this morning yeah i didn't think so i thought my a.d guy back there was raising his hand but he's just pointing at the tvs i was like wow this is really not i wonder what you're putting up there you know it's like let me now look at this here there we go okay good thank god for the av people these are their notes they do this for you guys i don't use notes when i teach thank god for that but none of us here are without sin there's no such thing as the false teaching of sinless perfection the false teaching of wesley wesleyan doctrine that when we become born again we sin no more we're not under the bondage of sin but yes in this flesh paul says nothing good dwells god acts on our behalf some of you stopped interceding some of you have stopped interceding and and maybe maybe you're saying no that's not true i pray yeah because you pray for yourself and what you want in your will in your kingdom you need to pray for what we just look go back and hear this message again get your priorities straight our job is if jesus is interceding we should be interceding and jesus is not interceding for himself he's already fulfilled the will of the father he part of him seated at the right hand is a fulfillment of the will of the father jesus is interceding for you and for me why because there's an accuser of the brethren that's accusing you and me day and night before the lord your holy cities our wilderness our wilderness zion is a wilderness jerusalem a desolation our holy and beautiful temple where your father's praised you is burned up with fire and all your pleasant things are laid waste remember in chapter 62 and verse 1 for zion's sake i will not hold my peace and for jerusalem's sake i will not rest until her righteousness goes forth this brightness and her salvation is a lamp that burns and the nations the gentiles will see this righteousness of god think about this here he's saying this is a condition that we're in but we know god you're not going to leave us there let your glory be seen in us let your glory be made known by you meeting and delivering guys listen to this and this happens when we intercede and we pray notice what he's saying here your land and your people are barren restore us o lord revive us o lord look at what he says here and all the pleasant things are laid waste you will restrain yourself because of these things oh lord will you hold your peace and afflict us very severely no god will work in his grace why because he said for zion's sake i will not hold my peace and for jerusalem's sake i will not rest until her righteousness goes forth this brightness and her salvation is a lamp that burns boy i love it when new believers are so on fire for the lord god and you just can sit back and watch them burn for jesus a true intercessor his heart is on fire for the things that are on the lord's heart the righteousness and brightness of not only the city but of god's people may we become intercessors and not self-seekers may we pray the will of god not the will of man may we pray that his glory may be seen and not us amen

Channel: LivingWayTV

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Id: N0foSNDN7EU

Length: 60min 38sec (3638 seconds)

Published: Mon Sep 12 2022