Requirements for the Ministry of Intercession - Part 1

Welcome to the intact podcast with Charles Stanley for Monday, November 1.

Today's lesson returns to the year-long ministry focus on freedom.

Remind yourself of the responsibility believers have to pray for others. The most powerful and influential you can ever perform in behalf of anyone else, is to take that person to God in prayer but is for you to intercede in their behalf in the presence of God.

That is the most powerful influential act. You can ever perform in behalf of anyone else at the time of this message is requirements for the ministry of intercession. All intercession is prayer but all prayers, not intercession because some prayer is Thanksgiving. Some is praise some is petition, adoration, worship, but then there is the ministry of intercession and someone has defined intercession as law opponents in the is coming to God in behalf of someone else standing in for the other person and pleading their case before Almighty God in Romans chapter 9 if you will turn there and the first five verses we found the heart of a real intercessor in the life of Paul because, having finished this great eighth chapter of Romans where he talks about the victor that is ours in Christ Jesus and ends up by saying who shall separate us in the love of Christ, and he answers that. And then he says we are more than conquerors through all of these things. Then he begins in chapter 9 verse one by saying I'm telling the truth in Christ. I'm not lying, my conscience, bearing the witness and the Holy Spirit that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart for I could wish that I myself were accursed separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, by Kinsman according to the flesh who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons of the glory and the covenants and the giving of the law, the temple service of the promises whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the place who is over all, God blessed forever.

Amen.

Here is a man who is saying I am willing to go to hell and although that all Israel may be say I want you to understand that in this message.

I'm not expecting everyone to respond by saying, Lord, give me the ministry of intercession, but all of those should have a ministry of intercession that is bringing others before God in prayer. There are some people who are called to a ministry of intercession. That's their life calling that's their work that's their ministry. All of us should be in prayer. All of us should be praying for many things, but there are some people whom God calls to the ministry of intercession, but all the other hand, all of us have and should have a ministry organization that is bringing other people.

We should begin with their own family and children and that many of the people for whom you're not going to pray, but it's one thing simply to pray for someone but it's something else to begin to intercede in their behalf before Almighty God. Every child needs that kind of a father and that kind of a mother and every parent needs that kind of a son and daughter someone lifting them up and all of us have had many many experiences where God is intervened in our life. As a result of someone else's praying and we didn't even realize it. And then sometimes we did. When you begin to think about how God works in a person's life and how you will not become intercessors and intercessors and for person who brings before Almighty God someone else. You don't intercede for things you petition God for things you intercede for person usually God will teach us how to pray. Intercessor led by laying an individual not heart, then he may have you praying for large groups of people but usually he will begin teaching you the principles by laying a particular person in your life. God will begin to lay the minister intercession that once again, so you will not misunderstand what I'm about to share with you all the requirements I'm going to give you nine requirements for the intercession. So get yourself a pencil and a piece of paper, a pin, and I want you to jot these down the all begin with an a so you can remember the if you will remember this in the very beginning, God does not give everybody a life ministry of intercession. He does call some to the ministry of intercession, but all of the laws are to be intercessors and we need to understand some basic principles if we going to intercede. It's one thing simple the hop down and pray all Lord, would you please bless so-and-so you know that the trouble there anymore.

I don't know what to do pump would you bless him in Jesus name that's not in the session.

I want to share with you what's involved in the session, but to remind you God may be calling you to the ministry of intercession.

This I know he is calling you to intercede as a believer. For those whom you know and not say, and specifically and particular people. God will place upon your heart in the light of what Paul said here and all these non-points are found in this passage. Here is a man who is expressing the heart of an intercessor pleading before God that he would save his people. The nation of Israel someone you jot these non-points. Now and then you ask the Lord to begin to work them into your prayer life and to begin to work them into your life because you will become a dynamic moving vital force in the work of God in the world. Once you begin the bidding process because there is no place in the world you cannot touch. There is no person in the world.

Your life cannot touch as a result of your talking to God as we send our intercessions before Almighty God. Is there any place in all this universe is not in the palm of his hand. Is there a place either in space or in this earth that is not in the palm of the omnipresent God.

There is not. Which means when you not begin to intercede before Almighty God in behalf of others that God who sees everything in his presence simply reflects our intercessions in the lives of those people all through the Scriptures we find God services intercessors Abraham praying and interceding for Solomon Gemara Moses interceding for an idolatrous people. Samuel said, God forbid that I should seize the pray for Israel. Jeremiah pleading for God's people. Now my pleading for God's people.

Paul's prayers of intercession in the epistles that all their and then the 17th chapter of John is Jesus intercessory prayer for his apostles and for the church and the answer that prayer you and are still reaping the benefits of those answers, even today, so it just may be that God is going to call some of you to the ministry of intercession and I repeat this again again again for emphasis. I want you to hear what I'm saying. All of us have the responsibility of interceding for others, he will lay specific people upon your life. He may lay large groups of people upon your life. How does an intercessor respond so I want to give you the requirements number one the first one is awareness. If you going to intercede for others that you must be willing for the Holy Spirit to make you sensitive to the needs of that person. Sensitive to their needs are aware of what's happening in their life. You must not only be all sensitive to their needs, but very much aware based on your understanding of the word of God that God is interested in other people that God's power can be released through them and that the person for whom you are praying has a potential to be used of God is seen intercessor. Not only is aware of the hurts and the weaknesses and the frailties and the needs of the person for whom there praying they likewise are sensitive to the potential that person could have God get a hold of their life. You going to intercede for people who are living in sin are just as lost as they can be. God will place upon your heart, a member of your family made our someone who appears to be an enemy of yours someone whom you may not even like to begin with God places all kinds of individuals he will place them under lives in a distant city. He will play someone up on your heart whom you not you do not even know very well, but God may awaken you in the early morning hours.

God knows how to sensitize your life and mind to those all that person whom he wants us to pray. The second word is availability and intercessor must be available for God to lay a burden upon that person's heart. Are you available for God to burden you that is to put a heaviness in your heart in behalf of someone else who is in the usable. Why should I pray for someone else. Why doesn't everyone pray for is only would you not agree. My friend that there'd have been times in your life when you are confused and did not know it when you were walking right toward the precipice of Satan's trap in your life and you were not aware of it.

God raises up intercessors in behalf of those whom he loves because he sees oftentimes they do not see where they are. They do not know how close they are to wrecking and ruining their lives.

God raises up someone burdens their heart and begins the intercede and that person onto himself of the Holy Spirit. I must be willing to bear whatever burden the other person is suffering that availability not only means burden, but it also means time it will be that sometimes God will burn your heart to pray for person you don't want to eat you don't want to sleep. He may awaken you in the wee hours of the morning. The only thing he brings to your mind is the face of that person. The only thing he brings to your mind is that person's name you don't understand what's happening in their life you don't understand why you're awake at 3 o'clock in the morning you understand what you know you got to get up and pray don't run get appeal to go back to sleep, get on your face before God and asked him, Lord, what you saying to me. You may only know the person distantly.

But God has burdens your heart he's awakened you are suddenly in the midst of your conversation or your work aware whatever you doing God keeps bringing this person to your mind when he does that. It may be that he wants you to stop and take time.

You may have to say Lord I don't know what's going on in his life at this moment but somehow you keep bringing him to my mind, I want to bring him before you whatever trouble he's in whatever temptation she may be facing. Whatever the difficulty, whatever the hurt I don't know the circumstances but I know the Holy Spirit knows.

So I bring them to you. I intercede and never have I pick a place in their behalf. I stand in their place. The pray Lord God Almighty. Whatever the need is where ever they are.

Would you meet that need. At this moment is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ you're available.

The stand in as an intercessor in their head available. Number three advocate. You see an advocate is one who goes in someone else's place and pleads their cause. Have you not seen people who were living in sin who did not understand the ultimate potential of what they were doing. Have you not been burdened and gripped at times when you see maybe your own children or someone in your family and you knew they were about to make a mistake even to see either their mind was clouded and somewhat intercession means father. I'm willing as an advocate I'm coming in the name of Jesus Christ to plead their case God the know understand what's going on.

They don't see how close they are to danger.

They do not see the satanic entrapment they do not see the dangers they face. I plead with you in the name of Jesus that you would open their mind and open the heart and convey to them the truth and help them to see the danger they're facing. You are interceding you are an advocate at the throne of Almighty God in behalf of someone who often done does not even see what they're going through. On the other hand, it may be that person is walking into a very difficult situation.

They do know what's going on isn't that living in sin do not into temptation there. Walking righteously before God, but God lays upon your heart a tremendous burden to lift them up and to support them in prayer and the plea the name of Jesus. You know what you doing in those moments when you are acting as an advocate you at that moment, acting more like Jesus Christ than anything else you could do.

The Bible says we ascended, he says send this to the right hand of the father to make intercession for his saints. That means that Jesus Christ is making intercession right for you and me.

That is the thing he is doing continuously. We are never more like Jesus Christ where pleading someone else's name at the throne of Almighty God, beseeching him for whatever the need is in their life and the wonderful thing is I don't even have to know what I'm praying for you have to know what the problem is that the person's life. I don't even have to know the danger. I don't have to know what the circumstances are. I don't even have to know the need because the Holy Spirit makes intercession for us with groanings and pleadings. He's doing that through our spirit, there may be times when you get on the pray for someone. And the only thing you can do is growing old. God oh God oh God, I don't know what the pray. I don't know what to say but my heart is so heavy for him. I plead with you in the name of Jesus.

One of the natives that may be the only thing that you go to say that I want to tell you, Almighty God, through his spirit knows exactly what the need is he takes your groaning your utterances, your prayers, you pleading your intercession and he interprets them precisely an executor meet the needs and God is going to work in the other person's life. You stand as an advocate like the Lord Jesus Christ before is the word acceptance, my friend. There'll be times when God will play somebody upon your heart.

You don't even like, let alone love, you won't even like them. In fact, they may be your direst enemy, or it may not be that way but acceptance is the key. Let me explain what I mean by acceptance by acceptance I mean that you are willing to accept that person. Just the way they are. You not gonna wait till God straightens them up the pray for you going to accept them just the way they are realizing that you could be in the same condition that you could have been blinded.

You could have been confused. You commit a wrong decision. You could be entrapped by sin. You can be imprisoned by having you accept them just the way they are and you begin to intercede before Almighty God, and you begin intercede that person. If you don't already love them, God will begin to deepen your understanding and deepen your love in their behalf novel to show you something that so very important. When you began to accept the other person. Just the way they are. It makes no difference. Sometimes you may become so disgusted you think they are deliberately, willfully and knowingly walking straight into a trap. There is absolutely no way to get out of it after the be so blind.

I want to give up and quit God's as you can quit intercessors on Quinn's they may be challenged and warfare may set in the become discouraged, but intercessors are not winners. Let me show you what happened when you begin to intercede for someone else and you keep bringing them to God. Do you know what God will do, God will so sensitize your understanding, you will begin to understand things about that person that one thing about themselves. You will begin to see them as they really are.

You began to foresee how they can respond to something.

And the reason God will show you that about that person. In fact, when a person begins to intercede for someone else. God reveals so much about that person. Oftentimes the person is being prayed for, is absolutely shocked about what the other person knows about them when they think nobody knows all yes God knows it all. And when God knows it all. In order for God to intensify the prayer and make the prayer accurate God begins to reveal to the intercessor things about your personality things about your disposition how you respond how you react what you would like on the inside. You see what God does is you begin the pray God uncovers that you thinking well on the how to ponder what I will know. But this person on the start praying. Forget it is not what I'm talking about. I mean, when you come to God in loving concern for the other person, God begins let you feel what they feel. He begins to let you see things as they see them, and then you're a listen you are able to foresee some dangers that they are going to face even before they see them, and then when God shows you that you begin to intercede in behalf of them to protect them from making a mistake. They are seemingly determined to walk into. That's why it is so very important that you not learn to accept other people the way they are and as we begin to intercede for them.

We can accept their habits. We can accept there that worry we can accept their unbelief. We can accept the rejecting spirit, we can accept all of that because we are advocates standing in their behalf. In the throne room of Almighty God, beseeching God to do for them and to them and in them and through them all that he's chosen because they cannot hear at this moment, all because they need the undergirding of God's people praying you seek God only works in answer the prayers of his people. If a church is weak, it is because people not praying if it is going on its momentum and it is sees the parabola tell you the moment I was going to run out the most powerful thing the church ever does is pray.

The most far-reaching anything that any person ever does is the pray is the most effective tool that God is given is that it's not up to it as a way of life in a relationship of love between awesome omnipotent on mission God we have the privilege of effecting we have the privilege of influencing effecting the whole world right from your bedroom). Just got it right from your and you have the privilege of touching any and every light on the face of this earth because God responds to your intercession in behalf of someone. Thank you for listening to requirements for the ministry at intercession if you'd like to know more about child family intact ministries nine antistatic writing this back after the presentation of intense ministry Manager again