NAMES OF GOD

by | Nov 29, 2016 | 0 comments

Prayerful Meditations on

THE NAMES OF GOD

“The Peace & Power of Knowing God’s Name” by Kay Arthur

1. Elohim– the Creator
My mighty and strong Creator. Father, Son & Holy Spirit, One. My strong tower and unshakable refuge. I fear You Lord and trust in Your name. I was created for Your glory.
2. El Elyon – God Most High.
You are sovereign, ruler of all the universe. Possessor of heaven and earth. Giver of victory. Your purpose will be established. Nothing occurs that falls out of Your control. You have a purpose in everything. Your sovereign power toward me means nothing less than perfect love.
3. El Roi – The God who sees.
You are with me always. Your eyes are not shut. What’s more – You know my future. You know my destiny. You know the sins committed against me. You will vindicate me. All will be used for good. I know You, believe You and put my trust in Your name. I seek You Lord. You see my loved ones. You know where they’re at. I can trust that you’ll never leave or forsake them.
4. El Shaddai – The All Sufficient One
God Almighty – I trust You. I rest in You. I let You supply my needs. You pour forth blessings, temporal and spiritual. You give me fresh life, nourishment. You are my protector, the unconditional lover of my soul, my comforter. You hold me in your love. You wipe away my tears. You are my rock, my refuge, my very present help in times of trouble. You’re everything I will ever need.
5. Adonai – The Lord
My master, owner, Master of all that I am and have. I submit to you! You supply what I need in order to perform Your will. You have the right to expect obedience from me.
6. Yehovah – The Self Existent One
Your most sacred name – most holy, most glorious, the name you want us to know You by – You are – You have become – You have being and essence in and of Yourself. You have always been. You always are and You will always be. Everything that came into being came from You. This, Your personal name has limitless power. You are who You are. You are everything and anything I will ever need. You are the eternal I am…the Alpha and the Omega – the same yesterday, today and forever. All life is contained in You. I need not look elsewhere. I can rest in Your unchangeableness. You have never failed. You are our covenant keeper – deliverer. You are unchanging, faithful. As I long for someone who will always be there – You are that. You will not change, leave or move. Your love will never grow cold. You will always be here to comfort me. Everything and anything that I ever need will come from You.
7. Yehovah Yireh – The Lord will provide
You provide life Lord! You provide everything that I need. Yeshua is all that I truly need! Yeshua is the provision for my sin, not my own perfection! You see God. You foresee. You know the end from the beginning and thus in Your omniscience, You provide. You are true to Your name. You will provide. You are for us, not against us. In any test I can lay my Isaac on the altar. I can worship You in obedience and know that whatever the need, You will provide it.
8. Yehovah Rapha – The Lord Who Heals.
You heal Your people God. You bring health and beauty to sin-sick nations and people. I turn to You. You are a physician. You can bring refreshment and take the bitterness of life and make it sweet. If we give earnest heed to Your voice and do what is right in Your sight and give ear to Your commandments and keep all Your statues You put no diseases on us for You are the Lord, our healer. You can heal our souls. The Lord Yeshua HaMashiach is the Prince of Peace. You apply the cross to the bitter waters of our life and heal us of sins mortal wounds. You are the Shepherd and Guardian of my soul. Only You can heal the ills of our souls. Health, healing and obedience go together. I turn to You for healing. I open the medicine of Your Word and apply it to my wounds. Whether an illness is physical, emotional or spiritual I first seek healing from You, Yehovah Rapha. Examine my heart first Lord. I must deal with sin in my life thoroughly. You always meet me at the point of my obedience, and there, come to my side. I run into the strong tower of Your healing name
9. Yehovah Nissi – The Lord My Banner
I turn to You to find strength and will to stand fast and keep fighting the good fight. I look to You for help when the enemy comes in like a flood. Deliverance is found in the Lord My Banner. I let my heart thrill at the victory that is mine in You. A banner was an ensign or standard carried at the head of a military grouping. In battle soldiers looked across the confusion and chaos of the battlefield for a glimpse of their king’s banner. As long as they saw it they fought with courage and confidence. You, God Yourself, are our banner. You are our confidence. You are the source of our strength in battle. You are our shining assurance of victory. You are powerful and bring us deliverance. I look to Jehovah Nissi in order to defeat my unyielding enemy, the flesh. The flesh must constantly be put to death. It can’t be tolerated. It can’t be catered to. It can’t be spared in any way. If it is, it will devastate me. Death to the flesh is the battle cry of every child of God. Nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. I rally at the standard of Yehovah Nissi and I see the tide of the battle turn. I look up! I stand firm. I am strong in the Lord and the strength of His might. I’m not alone in the battlefield. I look to the Lord my banner. Under His banner victory is assured. Apart from it defeat is a certainty. I cannot battle the flesh under my own power. Apart from Him I can do nothing. I abide under the power, the standard, the banner, the ensign of Yehovah Nissi and I can have victory over the flesh, the world and the devil – my enemies and God’s. I go to war and put to death what I need to. Messiah is there with me, interceding on heavenly Zion’s holy mount. Victory is assured under the bright banner of His name.
10. Yehovah Mekaddishkem – The Lord Who Sanctifies You
Your names, my God, bring strength to my heart, a lift to my shoulders and a spring to my step. I say them outloud – I worship You – You, God save me, redeem me and set me apart. I belong to You! You sanctify me. The purpose of the Sabbath is that we know that “I am the Lord who sanctifies you.” I do not sanctify myself. You, God make me holy. Sanctification would never come through the law. It would only come through You. I enter into Your name. I enter into Your rest. Salvation comes through resting in You, God. I cannot obtain it through my own efforts. Holiness is the same. I live a holy life in response to what You have already accomplished. You carry me on eagle’s wings. I call upon Your name and enter into Your wonderful rest.
11. Yehovah Shalom – The Lord is Peace
Lord I turn to you in distress. I turn to You when I’m troubled. When I go to You God, You hear my cry. You always have a solution. You lift anxiety from my heart. You clear the path. You give me peace. Your name is a strong tower. You are present with me in the midst of darkness and fear. In that place You are the Lord my Peace. In the midst of stresses and challenges You are Peace. True peace can only be found in right relationship with You, God. Peace cannot be based in circumstances and situations of life. I do not let my peace be centered in another person, sunny skies, a full stomach, a balanced checkbook, a healthy body, or a harmonious home. You God are Yehovah Shalom. You Yourself are my peace. When storms sweep over my horizon I run into the shelter of Your name. When I find You I find peace. You are peace.
12. Yehovah – Sabaoth/Tzvaot – The Lord of Hosts
When the odds against me seem overwhelming and the situation I find myself in seems unbearable…when I’m at the very end of my strength, in deep trouble – when I sense defeat and darkness – in times of conflict and warfare Yehovah Sabaoth is the name to call upon. It’s the name that makes the very pillars of the universe tremble. When I’m harassed, powerless and I come to the end of myself and find life’s conflicts unbearable I turn to You, Lord of Hosts. I call upon Your name, Yehovah Tzvaot. This is the name to run to when from my perspective there is no other help. This is the day to shelter in Your name. Yehovah Tzvaot which means mass – mass of heavenly beings – angels – an army of heavenly hosts. You rule over all the angelic hosts. You rule over the armies of heaven. You are Lord over all powers, principalities and rulers in high places. The battle is not mine. It’s Yours! No one can stand against You. The righteous run into the strong tower of Your name and find safety.
13. Yehovah Raah – The Lord My Shepherd
Rather than believing in myself and trying to make my own way through life I turn to Your precepts God, and with faith in You say I can do all things through You who strengthens me. This is to think biblically, to believe what You say. And what do You say about me, and You? Over and over again You say we are like sheep, weak and helpless, and You are a loving, tender shepherd. Even though I do dumb things, I’m not perfect and I stumble in many ways, I can succeed and prosper because You Lord are my Shepherd. In You I find all that I need. How dumb are sheep? They will literally eat themselves right off a cliff. In such severe situations the shepherd would be forced to break the leg of that sheep and then bind up the injury, carrying, talking and singing to the sheep until it finally healed. Then he would remove the splint and let the sheep go. By that time the sheep would be so accustom to the tenderness, warmth and closeness of the shepherd that he wouldn’t wander away anymore. He would be content to stay at the shepherd’s side. Lord I seek You and I find You’re seeking me. Every single lamb matters to you, the Good Shepherd.
14. Yehovah Tsidkenu – The Lord Our Righteousness
What do I do? Where do I turn when I have no hope? Is there hope for hearts given over to sin and rebellion? There is hope. It is in the dark hour of judgment and failure that You, God reveal this name to the hopeless, who see only death. It’s a blazing radiant beacon cutting through the darkness, pointing the way to heaven’s gate. Yehovah Tsidkenu – The Lord Our Righteousness… I can have a new heart. You will put the fear of God into my heart so I will not turn from You. You will give me a new heart and spirit and cause me to walk in Your statutes and observe Your ordinances. A new covenant – a new heart will come because of a righteous Branch named Yehovah Tisdkenu – The Lord Our Righteousness. I can be righteous. It’s all wrapped up in understanding Your name Yehovah Tisdkenu. The righteous Branch (Jer. 23:5) who will reign as king and do justice and righteousness is You, God incarnate (God in the flesh) the Messiah, the Lord Yeshua HaMashiach. At Calvary’s cross You made Him who knew no sin to be sin on my behalf, that I might become the righteousness of God in Him. What an exchange! My sin, past, present and future – for Your own measureless, incalculable righteousness and purity. I can only be right with You God, by receiving the righteousness of Yehovah Tsidkenu – The Lord Our Righteousness – Yeshua HaMashiach.. I run into the strong tower of Your name. The shining beauty of Your very righteousness belongs to me.
15. Yehovah Shammah – The Lord is There
What do I do when I feel alone, abandoned, forgotten – imprisoned in difficult circumstances? How do I keep hope bubbling up like a spring? How do I keep courage burning bright and strong? I obey Your word God, mediate on its precepts, cling to it in faith with all my heart. The more I open my heart and life to the ministry of Your Word and Your Spirit, the more I realize You are there. Wherever I am You, God are there. You are waiting and longing to be my future and my hope. I will not be absorbed by my captivity. I will be absorbed with You!

 

OMER DEVOTIONAL

by | Nov 28, 2016 | 0 comments

THE OMER DEVOTIONAL

A 50-day devotional journey to discover your role in the end-time revival of Israel
and God’s plans to gather the Jewish People back to the Land of Israel.

“See, I will gather them out of all the countries, where I have driven them in My anger, My fury, and great wrath, and I will bring them back to this place and cause them to dwell securely. They will be My people, and I will be their God. I will give them one heart and one way, so they may fear Me forever; for their good and for their children after them. I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never turn away from doing good for them. I will put My fear in their hearts, so that they will not depart from Me. “Yes, I will delight in doing good for them, and with all My heart and all My soul I will in truth plant them in this land.” (Jeremiah 32:37-41)

 

Please consider making a donation to Mission Discipleship’s Israel Mandate if this devotional blesses you…
(No gift is too small – whatever you can do to help us would be a great blessing.)

THE OUTLINE OF PRAYER

by | Nov 26, 2016 | 0 comments

The Outline of Prayer

By Larry Stockstill

The grace (favor and spiritual blessing) of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the presence and fellowship (the communion and sharing together, and participation) in the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen (so be it). (2 Cor. 13:14)

This is the last verse of 2 Corinthians and an outline of prayer.

Focus in on the love of God. Think about the goodness of a Father who loves you. Tell Him “You’re a good Father. It’s who You are!” Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Sing songs of praise to Him. Exalt Him. Tell Him how good and wonderful He is. Do you know how powerful God is? He is so powerful and mighty. You can’t even see Him yet He counts the hairs of your head. He calls the stars by name. Come before Him and talk about how much He loves you and how much you love Him.

Shift to Jesus and the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank God for the cross of Jesus. Each day see Him in your mind being nailed to the cross. Thank Him for taking the nails in His hands and feet, and His suffering on the cross for six hours in payment for your sins. See Him on the whipping post and see Him taking the stripes and being willing to have his flesh torn from His back for the healing of your sicknesses and diseases. Thank Him and praise Him! See the empty tomb and Him rising from the dead, victorious over death, hell and the grave. See Him ascending to heaven and sitting down at the right hand of God with every demon power under His foot and subjected to His Name.

Then see Him giving you His armor and saying “wear this. Wear My armor!” Put on His Helmet of salvation – Breastplate of righteousness – Belt of Truth – Shoes of Peace – Shield of Faith – Sword of the Spirit. (Eph. 6)

Stand in His might and in His power. Look at Jesus in His beauty. His eyes are like fire. His hair like wool. His robe is white. His girdle is gold. His feet are brass. Thank Him for His grace, mercy, forgiveness and healing. Thank Him for His mighty power and for interceding at the right hand of the Father.

Greet the Holy Spirit. “Good morning Holy Spirit. Thank You that You live inside of me. You’re my might, my power, my counsel, my wisdom and understanding.” Go through the fruit of the Holy Spirit. (Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.) (Gal. 5) Ask Him to help you with each one of them. Go through the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Ask Him to use you in each one. (Wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, speaking in tongues, interpretation of tongues) (1 Cor. 12) Go through the anointing of the Holy Spirit and ask Him to use you in each one. (Wisdom and understanding, counsel and might, knowledge and the fear of the LORD. (Isaiah 11:2) (Also see Romans 12:3-8 for other gifts of grace.)

Be free to sing and dance before the Lord. Love God and receive His Love. Thank the Lord Jesus and receive His grace. Invite the Holy Spirit and walk in His power every day!

OVERCOMING SIN

by | Nov 25, 2016 | 0 comments

Overcoming Sin

 

We must know the truth of what God’s Word says about our position in Christ so that we can have victory over issues in our life where the devil tries to trick us into believing lies, which result in sin.
Romans 5:20-21

God’s whole purpose in the plan of salvation was to save us from sin.
Romans 6:1-11

If we died with Christ we believe that we will also live with him. Christ was raised from the dead and cannot die again. Death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.

The words “we will also live with him” refer to an experience of resurrection life here and now. There is a future resurrection and the same union of the believer with Christ that we have been talking about is a guarantee of it. But that is not what these verses are about. They refer to Jesus’ passage from a world where death reigned to the sphere of resurrection life. They refer to our passage from the reign of death to the reign of grace, to a present resurrection. This is what Paul said of himself in Philippians, where he wrote, “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection” (Philippians 3:10). He meant that he wanted to be victorious over sin.

This is the first time Paul urges his readers to do anything in the book of Romans. The Greek word for “count” in this verse is “logizomai” which is important because it means something that is reality, that is, with things as they truly are. It has nothing to do with wishful thinking. Paul’s starting point for exhorting us is counting as true what God has Himself already done for us. Sanctification begins with knowledge. The first step in growing in holiness is counting as true what is in fact true. Sanctification is knowing that God has taken us out of Adam and has joined us to Jesus Christ and then beginning to live that way. The secret to a holy life is believing God.

Colossians 2:9-15

“Triumphing”

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When Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead, He won the victory over the devil once and for all. The completeness of what Jesus accomplished for us is not clearly understood by many Christians today and as a result they spend an excessive amount of their life fighting a war that has already been won for them. God isn’t asking us to win the war again over the devil – that’s ancient history. He wants us to believe what truly happened 2000 years ago and use that victory in our daily lives to keep the devil in a bound condition. That is what triumphing is all about. By disarming the powers God took the devil’s guns away from him and stripped him of his ability to do what he had formerly done to the human race. Then God boldly and publicly showed that satan is no longer allowed to ravage mankind, provided we will accept Christ and His finished Work in our lives and live on God’s terms.

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Paul takes his language here from the Roman customs of that time. When a Roman general defeated his opponent in war, the Roman Senate arranged a triumph for him upon his victorious return to Rome. A giant procession was organized, led by the conquering general. He was dressed in all his finery and placed in a magnificent chariot pulled by 2 beautiful white horses. The defeated general and all his underlings who had survived the war were stripped naked, bound and chained to the back of the conquering general’s chariot. This was purposely done to show the people they had nothing to fear from this defeated enemy from that time on. The procession then advanced through the streets of Rome as the citizens cheered the winning general. After his chariot passed by, cheers turned to shouts of derision for the conquered for who followed. People insulted them, spit upon them and hit them with rocks; absolutely humiliating this enemy who had had the gall to believe he could defeat the mighty Roman empire.

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Applying this scenario to Christ’s victory over the devil, symbolically speaking, God put Jesus in the chariot and chained the devil and his demon hordes to the back of the chariot. And they are still there if we understand what God’s Word says.
Because we are “in” Christ, according to Romans 8:1-2, we are in the chariot with Christ Jesus, enjoying the spoils of winning the war! That is the reason we don’t have to beg God for what has already been accomplished. We aren’t’ standing on the sidelines, hoping a small part of the victory will rub off on us by chance. We are always triumphant in Christ! The reason some Christians have so much trouble with the devil and suffer assaults through fear, sickness, depression, sin and want is that they are believing the devil’s version of what their position is in Christ more than what God tells them about it in His Word.

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We are expressly commanded to “Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” The wrestling match or battle or spiritual warfare that we are engaged in today revolves around this area of deception or illusions which the devil uses to trick us into believing his lies about the situation instead of God’s Truth. When the devil tries to put his symptoms of fear and sickness on us, we need to battle them with the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God.

When the devil says he’s going to kill us or our children, we say “No, you’re not because God’s Word says this and this. Now get out of here in the Name of Jesus!”

Keep the devil behind the chariot where he belongs! He will try to pull us out of the chariot with his tricks. In fact some Christians are bound behind the chariot and the devil is running loose in their lives, stealing, killing and destroying, because they don’t understand it is their right, as a child of God, to keep the devil in a constant state of bondage! The fact is that the devil is terrified of true disciples who stay in the chariot, believing God more than anything else.

Being in relationship with God means that He will continually be purifying us and showing us areas of sin in our lives.  In humility we’re to ask His Holy Spirit help us to be holy, as God is holy.  This continual work of sanctification is a process that we walk in our entire lives.

Part of our on-going battle against sin in our lives involves our recognizing the lies that we’re believing and replacing those with the truths found in God’s Word. Spend time with God today and ask Him what in your life He considers as sin.  Then ask the Lord to help you by the power of His Word and His Spirit to turn away from that sin. Let this be the pattern of your life.  God exalts the humble and draws them near to Himself.  In the nearness of God’s holy Presence sin melts away by the power of His infinite Love.

PRINCIPALS OF INTERCESSION

by | Nov 24, 2016 | 0 comments

PRINCIPLES OF INTERCESSION & SPIRITUAL WARFARE

By Candy Nuno

Definitions:

PRINCIPLE: 1. A guiding sense of requirements and obligations of right conduct 2. A basic law, axiom or doctrine

INTERCESSION: 1. The act or an instance of interceding 2. A prayer to God on behalf of another or others

SPIRITUAL WARFARE: 1. Of, relating to, consisting of, or having the nature of spirit; not tangible or material – in the waging of war against, to destroy, or undermine the strength of an enemy.

Principles Scriptural References
1. Humbling Ourselves Humility:(unpretentious, unassuming, unpresuming, submissive, meek, respectful.)

James 4: 6 But He gives a greater grace. Therefore {it} says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”James 4: 10 Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.

2 Chr 7:14 and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Phil 2:5-9Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, {and} being made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name.

1 Pet 5:5-11 You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you. Be of sober {spirit,} be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in {your} faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen {and} establish you. To Him {be} dominion forever and ever. Amen.

2. Cleansing Our Hearts and Developing Fear of the Lord

Cleanse: purify, remove defilement, unadulterated, unmixed, sterile, become inoffensive, become blameless, virtuous.Fear: Extreme reverence or awe, as toward a supreme power

Ps 51:10-11 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.

2 Cor 7:1 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

I Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

James 4:8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.John 9:31 “We know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is God-fearing, and does His will, He hears him.

Ps 19:9-11 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether. They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them Thy servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward.

Isa 66:1-2 Thus says the LORD, “Heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool. Where then is a house you could build for Me? And where is a place that I may rest? “For My hand made all these things, thus all these things came into being,” declares the LORD. “But to this one I will look, to him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.

Prov 9:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

Eccl 12:13-14 The conclusion, when all has been heard, {is:} fear God and keep His commandments, because this {applies to} every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.

Prov 2:1-5 My son, if you will receive my sayings, and treasure my commandments within you, Make your ear attentive to wisdom, incline your heart to understanding; For if you cry for discernment, lift your voice for understanding; If you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; Then you will discern the fear of the LORD, and discover the knowledge of God.

Prov 8:13 “The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way, and the perverted mouth, I hate.

Prov 3:5-7 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your body, and refreshment to your bones.

3. Relying on the Holy Spirit

Rely: depend on, count on, have confidence in, trust in.

Acts 1:8 but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

1 Cor 2:9-10 but just as it is written, “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and {which} have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him.” For to us God revealed {them} through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.

John 14:26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.

Rom 8:26-27 And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for {us} with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to {the will of} God.

4. The Heart of God is Praying with Love and Compassion

Love: Affection, friendship, devotion, regard, passion, sympathy, concern, care, sisterhood, brotherhood, appreciation

Compassion: Deep awareness of the suffering of another coupled with the wish to relieve it.

Isa 53:12 Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the booty with the strong; because He poured out himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet He himself bore the sin of many, and interceded for the transgressors.

Matt 22:37-39 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

John 13:34-35 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

2 Tim 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Heb 13:3 Remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are ill-treated, since you yourselves also are in the body.

Mark 6:34 And when He went ashore, He saw a great multitude, and He felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things.

Ezek 11:19-20 “And I shall give them one heart, and shall put a new spirit within them. And I shall take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances, and do them. Then they will be My people, and I shall be their God.

5. Pitfalls of Intercession

Pitfall: trap, ambush, snare, danger, quagmire, dead fall, booby trap, land mine, toils, quicksand, stumbling block, hurdle

IGNORANCE: Many Christians are ignorant of the spiritual warfare they face. The danger of ignorance of the spirit world can lead to foolishness.

FEAR: One cannot be inwardly fearful of engaging the enemy. Satan loves sin, fear, and attention. Do not give him any of the three. Do not fear the power of the enemy. God is greater! Know who you are in Christ Jesus and know the Word of God.

UNDERESTIMATING THE ENEMY: The Bible says do not be ignorant of satan’s devices. He comes as an angel of light to deceive. He is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. He binds the minds of men, etc. Be on guard, watchful and full of wisdom and light.

SPIRITUAL ARROGANCE: If we go into spiritual warfare and expect to have God’s power without humility on our part we are in trouble. The minute we begin to think we are doing it ourselves we become vulnerable to the enemy’s attack. We must stay in unbroken, intimate fellowship with the Lord and in His Word and relying on the Holy Spirit. Do not let go of your dependency on the Lord.

LACK OF PERSONAL INTERCESSION: Intercession, personal or otherwise, is one of your most utilized source of spiritual power and certainly the power of the Holy Spirit. Have definite assurance of being covered with intercessory prayer from others and by yourself for yourself.

UNGUIDED PRAYER: If you confine your intercession to your own understanding you may not only miss God’s intent, but may hinder His plan. Wait on God until he confirms His will to you. Listen to God in prayer.

POOR TIMING: When you get the revelation of God for prayer wait for His timing to pray it. Sometimes you will pray it within minutes, but may have to wait for hours, or even days or weeks before you are to pray. Hold His wisdom and guard it until he says to pray it.

GOSSIP: Biblically, a “gossip” is someone who reveals secrets and is compared to being a murderer. It is of utmost importance that when we are involved in an intercessory group that we steer away from discussing matters pertaining to personal issues. We can pray broad blessings over people but do not want to move into sensitive areas that might have the potential to turn our time of prayer into a time of gossip.

SCRIPTURES ON PRAYER

James 5:13-16 Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Samuel 1:27 I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him.

Matthew 5:44 .’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you

Mark 11:24-25 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”

Luke 18:1 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.

Acts 14:23 Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.

Matthew 21:21-22 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, `Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”

Acts 1:14 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

Philippians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Matthew 6:6-9 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. “This, then, is how you should pray: `Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. ‘ For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

SPIRITUAL WARFARE IN JESUS’ MINISTRY

In studying spiritual warfare the Christian’s positional security is to always remember to focus on Christ first, asking the question how is the Lord glorified in each and every situation. Just as people working in banks are taught to spot counterfeit bills by studying the real ones, we too are to keep our primary focus on the Lord and God’s Word and not get sidetracked into any sort of “demon chasing.” Jesus’ ministry however did include exorcisms or deliverances. More healings of Jesus are related to satanic influence than any other single factor. The Gospels are full of his actual conflict with satan, which reached its climax on the cross. A famous New Testament scholar, George Eldon Ladd summarizes the essence of Jesus’ ministry by saying, “God’s kingdom in Jesus’ teaching has a twofold manifestation: at the end of the age to destroy satan, and in Jesus’ mission to bind satan.” The apostle John characterized Jesus’ ministry the same way in 1 John 3:8 “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” Jesus talked about, thought about, taught about and personally confronted the devil and the demons under His command regularly. To ignore or underestimate a wicked and aggressive enemy is foolishness. Some world leaders thought the best thing would be to appease Adolf Hitler when he first began his expansive European conquests, and by doing so they helped kindle World War II. It is not farfetched to understand Jesus’ coming to earth as analogous to a military invasion. He came with the kingdom of God, and He preached the gospel of the kingdom. Who was on the defensive? Satan, the ruler of this world. None of us should in any way forget that the ultimate owner of the whole world is God. Satan never has been, nor ever will be, the owner of planet Earth. His kingdom consists in the control he possesses over people who inhabit the earth, and he maintains that control by securing their allegiance through various means known as “the wiles of the devil” (Eph. 6:11) Likewise, the kingdom of God that Jesus brought is not a land that has territorial boundaries, but rather the reign of Jesus Christ over human beings. Wherever people declare their allegiance to Jesus Christ, the kingdom of God is in their midst. The battle between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of satan is essentially a battle for people and for their allegiance. Before Jesus came, virtually every person on the face of the earth had pledged allegiance to satan. The exception was the relatively small group of descendants of Abraham called “the people of God”, the Jewish people, but even they were not immune to serious problems with spiritual allegiance. When Jesus died on the cross, satan not only suffered his most crippling defeat, but from that time on his ultimate doom was sealed as well. No wonder satan did and continues to do everything he possibly can to prevent the spread of the kingdom of God. He lusts for people’s allegiance and their worship, but he is defeated and he is losing. Beginning from the days of Jesus until now, every significant step forward for the Christian movement has been won through spiritual warfare. The war is not over. Even though our enemies are already defeated they are not dead, not even sickly. Peter sees satan as walking around “like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Pet. 5:8). The best of spiritual warriors today avoid the mistake of naively underestimating the power of the devil. Satan is no wimp. The very first time Jesus ever allowed His 12 disciples to go out to minister on their own He did two important things relating to the spiritual warfare undergirding their evangelistic mission:

  1. He gave them power over unclean spirits (Matt. 10:1)
  2. He commanded them, “And as you go, preach, saying “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers raise the dead, cast out demons.” (vv. 7,8)

When Jesus met Paul on the Damascus road, He sent him as a missionary to the nations, “to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of satan to God” (Acts 26:18). Because the devil gives up no one under his power without a fight, little doubt remained in Paul’s mind that he was in for a career involving heavy-duty spiritual warfare.

The task of evangelization today is the same as the day of Jesus and the apostles. Therefore, those among God’s people who are called to the front lines to take unbelievers from darkness to light will need the same spiritual equipment Jesus Himself had. Jesus said “He who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father” (John 14:12).

The only way such a thing could happen would be for us to drink from the same well from which Jesus drank. The water in this well is the Holy Spirit. Jesus also said, “He who believes in Me,…out of his heart will flow rivers of living water” (7:38), which John explains in this way: “This He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive” (v. 39). The Holy Spirit was the source of all of Jesus’ power during His earthly ministry. We can do the same or greater things than Jesus did because we have access to the same power source. Jesus also agreed to obey the Father completely during His time on earth. “He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (v. 8). Jesus’ obedience was voluntary and it was temporary. It consisted of the greatest display of humility ever known – agreeing to totally suspend the use (not the possession) of His divine attributes so that the only nature Jesus was using on earth was His human nature. That is why Jesus is called the “second Adam” (see 1 Cor. 15:45-47). Both Jesus and Adam were under a covenant of obedience to the Father. Neither one had been contaminated by original sin. And both were tempted by the devil in the same way – invited to break their covenant of obedience. Adam’s temptation was to eat the forbidden fruit, which he did. Jesus’ temptation was to violate His agreement of obedience by using His divine nature. He could have taken possession of satan’s kingdoms without worshiping satan, but He didn’t. If He had, He would have disobeyed the Father. The temptation ended, Jesus’ covenant of obedience had remained intact and the devil had been defeated. Afterward all of Jesus’ ministry was done as a human being. He depended entirely on knowing the will of the Father.’The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do” (John 5:19). He depended entirely on the power of the Holy Spirit. “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power” (Acts 10:38). He said, “I cast out demons y the Spirit of God” (Matt. 12:28). He judged only because the Father had delegated that authority to Him (see John 5:22) We can do the same works as Jesus, as He said we would, if we, like Jesus, are entirely dependent on knowing the will of the Father and on the power of the Holy Spirit.

We will never do the works as well as Jesus because He enjoyed several advantages we don’t have. Jesus had no sin, either original sin or actual sin. Jesus had a completely unobstructed channel to the Father along with a combination of complete faith and complete obedience. The corollary is that although we may never reach the perfection of Jesus, the nearer we do approach it, the more powerful we can expect our ministry to be. Can we withstand the devil in a high-level power encounter as Jesus did? Can we cast out demons as Jesus did? Can we live holy lives and display righteousness as Jesus did? Why not? Jesus said we could. Our human nature is not the variable. The variables are our characters, our obedience, our faith and our fullness of the power of the Holy Spirit. In the context of the story where Jesus sent out the 70 to preach and minister the kingdom of God when they returned they said “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name” (Luke 10:17). Later in His debriefing session with the disciples, Jesus makes two significant points, one relating to priorities and one relating to authority. Regarding priorities, Jesus said, “Do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven” (v. 20).

Spiritual warfare is not to be regarded as an end in itself, but a means to the end of seeing lost souls taken from darkness to light, from the power of satan to God. Salvation is eternal, but spiritual warfare, at best, will give us only temporal results. Regarding authority Jesus said “Behold I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you” (Luke 10:19) Not only do Christians have the authority to war against these powers of darkness, but if called by God to do so, we have the responsibility to as well. If we do not pray against our spiritual enemies, they will, indeed, prey upon us. Perhaps the most outright indication that Jesus gives us power over all the manifestations of the enemy is the permission to use His name. Jesus said, “If you ask anything in My name, I will do it” (John 14:14). More specifically applying it to spiritual warfare: “In My name they will cast out demons” (Mark 16:17). When we enter into battle, we do so in the name of the Son of God. Our authority is awesome if we use it with the wisdom God gives to guide us. Jesus brought the kingdom of God to earth to displace the long standing kingdom of satan. He ministered through a human nature like ours under the authority of God the Father.

When he left, He transferred the authority to His disciples, and through His disciples to us. Jesus said, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations” (Matt. 28:18-19). Satan has from day one regarded that statement – the Great Commission – as a declaration of war. For that reason, Jesus said the kingdom of God comes with violence, “and the violent take it by force.” (11:12). One of the important ways we need to use this power if the kingdom of God is to advance in our church, our communities, in the nation and over the entire earth is to overcome or bind the strongman.