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| Watchfully Standing In The Gap | |
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| Topic Started: Nov 26 2006, 12:46 PM (163 Views) | |
| jonnybones777 | Nov 26 2006, 12:46 PM Post #1 |
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11/25/06 Watchfully Standing In The Gap With the previous message, we covered the subject of praying for oneself. This time around, the topic of praying for others is discussed. This type of prayer is called : "Intercession", which is the English word that stems from the Latin, "intercessio". It is "enteuxis" in Greek. Intercession means : "Entreaty in favor of another, especially a prayer or petition to Yahweh on behalf of another ; intervention; being an advocate, one who represents or pleads the cause of someone else." Within the original and holy language of the Bible, the Hebrew Tanakh (Old Testament) and Brit Chadasha (New Testament), it consists of two words, "tephillah" and "paga". Tephillah is : "to intercede and to sing your prayers and intercession to Yahweh in formal worship". Paga is "to encounter, entreat, make intercession, fall upon(out of hostility), strike, touch (as a boundary), cause to light upon, interpose, make attack, reach the mark, push against, etc. As I heard someone say a years ago, "All intercession is prayer, but all prayer is not intercession." Paga(intercessory prayer) consists not only of standing in the gap before Yahweh in praying for the working out of His will and the release of blessings into the lives of others, but also the salvation of lost people and concerning unholy situations to request His divine protection and intervention (with the loosening of holy angelic hosts to fight) to bring about deliverance. Right now, I want to talk about the latter part of that statement. Whenever we confront evil through intercession, it means that we face them in hostility or defiance, or to come with opposition. This is called "spiritual warfare". In this, we face the forces of darkness to enforce the victory of Calvary, taking back what the enemy has stolen. We have been given the Keys of the Kingdom to bind and loose, and those things which the enemy has taken from us cannot be recovered unless we first bind him in the Name of Yeshua(Jesus), following His example of warfare. (Matt.16:19; Mark 3:27) "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, the rulers of the darkness of this world and spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places." (Eph.6:12) "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. Nevertheless do NOT rejoice (or boast with pride) in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in Heaven." (Luke 10: 19,20) It is NOT us who are actually doing the fighting in intercession(or in casting out demons), but His Ruach haKodesh (Holy Spirit) through us in unity with the holy angels. We do not know how to truly pray with godly effectiveness, due to our limited knowledge and wisdom, and this is why we should submit to the Ruach/Breath of Yahweh in prayer, allowing Him to intercede through us as His conduits and vessels. (Romans 8:26,27) "And in like manner the Spirit also helpeth in our weaknesses: for we know not how to pray as we ought; but the Spirit Himself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered; and He that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because He maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of Yahweh." Whenever He prays through us in this manner, it is extremely deep and powerful, being in groanings rather than words spoken within our native language. This is called "travailing in the Spirit", as the Ruach prays the will of Yahweh in such a way that births or manifests His will within our realm and dimensions with intense passion and fervency. The apostle Paul was well aware of this type of prayer and said, "My little children, of whom I travail in birth (pangs) again until Christ be formed in you." (Gal.4:19) The context of this passage is about Paul wanting to be with the Galatians, but was unable to come, and his concern for them was intense. In combination with many other things he said, the picture becomes abundantly clear that he was in continual Ruach-led prayer and intercession on the behalf of others, being zealous and steadfast for the purpose of the complete manifestation of Abba's perfect will. Another aspect of tephillah and paga is that of praying in other glossolalia(tongues/languages) by the utterance of the Ruach. In this, we are speaking divine mysteries unto the Father of lights, building up not only our spirit and edifying our most holy faith, but also releasing Rivers of living Waters unto others who are in need. This comes as we are empowered by the Anointing of the Ruach with His gift to pray and speak to Abba Yah in this manner in releasing tremendous power for the manifestation of His will on earth, as it is in Heaven. (1 Corinthians 14:2, 4a ; Jude 20; John 7:38, etc) One of the most powerful ways we can communicate with Yahweh in effective spiritual warfare is through Ruach-inspired praise(and worship). Whenever we release genuine and heartfelt praise and worship towards Adonai, He inhabits and is enthroned within it(Ps.22:3). We are releasing His Power to work on our behalf, whenever we praise Him. Just as His Word is the double-edged "Sword of the Spirit", so likewise, praise is from His spiritual arsenal, being effective in pulling down satanic strongholds and anything that opposes Mashiach(Christ), punishing all disobedience as we remain in complete obedience to Him. This honor belongs to all of the saints. (Eph.6:17b ; Heb.4:12; Psalm 149:5-9; 2 Cor. 10:3-6 ; Eph. 3:10) If anyone doubts this, then check out these Scriptures : (Psalms 8:2) "Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger." (Matthew 21:16) "And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?" If you notice from the comparison between these two Scriptures, the fact is that Adonai Yeshua quoted from the Psalms, and the word "strength" (in Psalms) is paralleled with the word, "praise"(in Matt.). There is a reason for this, and it's because praise IS power, strength, and divine Energy being released from our spirits by His Ruach unto the One upon the throne. Then His Presence increasingly inhabits this praise and He loosens His angels to work and fight on our behalf, according to His will. We also see a powerful example of this warfare being displayed in 2 Chronicles 20: 21,22, where the praise and worshippers went ahead of the Israelite army on the way to battle against the Ammonites, Moabites, and those from Mount Seir, who had come to against Judah, and they were defeated. Whooo hooo! : ) These armies were not defeated by physical swords, spears, or arrows, but by the double-edged Sword of the Ruach through Yahweh-ordained praise. Wow! Can you imagine an army getting ready to defend their nation from foreign invaders,...and then the praisers and worshippers go out ahead of that army, singing unto Adonai? The Power of Yahweh Elohim which was expressed through that praise and worship was more powerful than mere physical weapons, and thus, the enemy became confused, turned on themselves, and killed each other as Israel watched. HalleluYah! : ) Brothers and sisters, it is imperative that we allow the Ruach haKodesh lead us in each and every aspect of intercessory prayer according to Abba Yah's perfect will. Within the Greek language of certain versions of the New Testament, there are two words for "time". One is "chronos", which is "chronological or sequential time; the general period of time in which anything is done." The other word is "kairos", being the "strategic or right time, the opportune moment or season of time in which something important and special should be done." It is about those occasions which Yahweh uses to introduce events that are of particular spiritual significance. Kairos times include occasions which are "windows of opportunity", when He desires to manifest His blessings within the lives of others. They also include when there is a need for a well-timed attack in spiritual warfare on behalf of someone who is in danger or about to be attacked by satanic forces of darkness. Within Ephesians 6:18, which speaks of intercessory prayer, including that of spiritual warfare for others. It says, "be on the alert (watchful) for all the saints" and "pray at all (kairos) times in the Spirit." Yahweh isn't telling us in this passage of Scripture to pray all the time, which would be "chronos", but instead, to intercede at all strategic times, in those (kairos) moments. Saints, we're in a spiritual war between the Light and the darkness, and if we're alert to the Anointing of the Ruach within us, He will warn us of the well-timed attacks (kairos) of the enemy, so we can pray effectively with divine precision and set up His boundary/hedge around ourselves and others. Last of all, I want to share about our role as the watchmen of Yahweh. Within the Tanakh(O.T.), it speaks of watchmen having variating functions, such as protecting vineyards and fields during the harvest season, being posted on city walls and at the city gates to scan the horizon for runners with messages for the king, guarding the walls day and night against enemy attack and being responsible for warning the citizens of attack, in which they would sound these warnings with trumpets. Prophets (such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, and others) were all charged to warn the nation of Israel of threatening judgment because of their iniquities, and they also carried the weight of accountability to Yahweh for the execution of his commands. (Jer. 31:6 & 51:12 ; 2 Kings 9:17-20 ; 2Samuel 18: 24-27; Isaiah 21: 6-8; & 6:17; Ez. 3:17-21 & 33:1-20) I said all that to get to this point, we're all called to be spiritual watchmen, being aware of what He is saying and revealing about Himself and the enemy, in relation to our own lives and those of others around us. Just in case anyone here assumes that it really isn't important that we obey Him in this, due to Him being sovereign,...then check out what Yah-El said : (Isaiah 67:6,7) "I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem; they shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that are Yahweh's remembrancers, take ye no rest, and give Him no rest, till He establish, and till He make Jerusalem a praise in the earth." (Ezekiel 22:30,31) "And I sought for a man among them, that should build up the wall, and stand in the gap before Me for the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found none. Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath: their own way have I brought upon their heads, saith the Adonay Yahweh." Do you see the significance of that statement by Him? Even though He remains sovereign, He still has appointed unto us the responsibility to intercede for others to delay His judgement, so that they may have opportune (kairos) time to repent and become saved, thus releasing His mercy and forgiveness on their behalf, as well as healing and restoration, like what happened when Jonah interceded and witnessed to Ninevah. Yahweh Elohim said to the prophet Isaiah, in 6:8, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for Us?" Isaiah then replied, "Here I am. Send me." It says in Psalms 127:1, "Except Yahweh build the house, they labor in vain that build it: Except Yahweh keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain." He chooses not to manifest His perfect will on earth without the participation of His people, and we simply are unable to do anything without His guidance and ability within and around us by the Ruach haKodesh. It is a covenant relationship in which us and Yahweh Elohim are as one, Yeshua haMashiach being the Head and we His Body. He desires for us to intercede for the needy, helpless, troubled, sick, those who are not walking with Him in the Ruach, family members, co-workers, world leaders, and those who are in such personal pain that they're unaware of how to pray for themselves. May we pray as He leads us, standing in the gap on their behalf as watchmen on the walls. As we obey in this, He can and will move by His Ruach in exceedingly powerful ways. The voice of Yah-El continually says, ""Whom shall I send? And who will go for Us?" Will you accept this calling and responsibility, saying, "Here I am. Send me", or will you reject it? (Chron. 7:14) "If my people, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." (I Peter 4:7) "But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer." (Col. 4:2) "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful." (Matthew 18,19) "I also tell you this: If two of you agree down here on earth concerning anything you ask, My Father in heaven will do it for you. For where two or three gather together because they are Mine, I am there among them." In Him we live, move, and have our being, (Acts 17:28a) Jonathan |
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| Shershalom | Jul 2 2008, 09:44 AM Post #2 |
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SherShalom "Blessed is HE that comes in the NAME of the LORD." MATTHEW 23:39 | |
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7:37 PM Jan 8