1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:02,160 But he's looking and even enticing. 2 00:00:02,320 --> 00:00:07,680 Can I find someone who will contend with me and argue my 3 00:00:07,680 --> 00:00:11,880 promises, my principles and remind me of the things I've 4 00:00:11,880 --> 00:00:13,960 said? Turn with me. 5 00:00:13,960 --> 00:00:20,160 We just I, I just had you turn to Isaiah chapter 43, verse 26. 6 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:22,440 We talked about this last week. This is the ESV. 7 00:00:22,840 --> 00:00:25,360 Listen to this. Put me in remembrance. 8 00:00:26,160 --> 00:00:32,400 Let us argue together, set forth your case that you may be proved 9 00:00:32,400 --> 00:00:36,680 right. That is an amazing invitation 10 00:00:36,680 --> 00:00:39,760 from God to you and I. We read it again and and read it 11 00:00:39,760 --> 00:00:43,440 that way. God is inviting you put me in 12 00:00:43,440 --> 00:00:44,960 remembrance. In other words, the Lord said, 13 00:00:44,960 --> 00:00:47,400 hey, remind me of the things I've told you. 14 00:00:47,960 --> 00:00:51,600 Remind me of the promises and the principles that I've showed 15 00:00:51,600 --> 00:00:53,680 you. Remind me of what I've taught 16 00:00:53,680 --> 00:00:57,600 you in the past, and use that in prayer in the present so you can 17 00:00:57,600 --> 00:01:00,880 change the future. Remind me, bring me into 18 00:01:00,880 --> 00:01:03,960 remembrance. There's there's something about 19 00:01:03,960 --> 00:01:09,600 using the past in response to the future that is a powerful 20 00:01:09,600 --> 00:01:12,960 spiritual principle. We've looked at it before, but 21 00:01:12,960 --> 00:01:18,720 how Solomon and and Psalm 132, he comes to before the Lord and 22 00:01:18,720 --> 00:01:22,920 he says, oh God, remember David and the sufferings that he 23 00:01:22,920 --> 00:01:25,760 endured. He's talking about the 24 00:01:25,760 --> 00:01:29,080 sufferings of a dead guy to move the heart of God. 25 00:01:29,320 --> 00:01:33,160 Isn't that amazing? He reminds God of one of his 26 00:01:33,160 --> 00:01:38,560 servants long gone and what he suffered in his service to the 27 00:01:38,560 --> 00:01:43,200 Lord, and he's using that for leverage for the future to see 28 00:01:43,200 --> 00:01:46,000 God move. It's an amazing principle, and 29 00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:47,760 that's what Isaiah's talking about here. 30 00:01:47,760 --> 00:01:51,120 Put me in remembrance. The Lord wants you to remind Him 31 00:01:51,120 --> 00:01:55,520 of the promises he's given you and the principles in His Word, 32 00:01:56,360 --> 00:02:00,000 and He wants you to come before him and hold Him to His Word 33 00:02:00,680 --> 00:02:04,640 because there is a spiritual battle that takes place for your 34 00:02:04,640 --> 00:02:07,480 future. And we need to learn how to 35 00:02:07,480 --> 00:02:10,759 fight for our future. And the promises of God, the 36 00:02:10,759 --> 00:02:15,480 prophecies from God, the Word of the Lord, the Word of God, are 37 00:02:15,480 --> 00:02:18,520 all weapons by which we fight for our future. 38 00:02:18,640 --> 00:02:20,040 So he says, put me in remembrance. 39 00:02:20,200 --> 00:02:24,400 Let us argue together there. There's a place for arguing with 40 00:02:24,400 --> 00:02:27,760 God. I know that sounds like heresy, 41 00:02:29,120 --> 00:02:32,320 but it's right here. Come, let us argue together. 42 00:02:32,680 --> 00:02:35,480 God wants to engage you in argument. 43 00:02:35,760 --> 00:02:40,920 Too many of us give in to our circumstances way too easily and 44 00:02:40,920 --> 00:02:42,560 we just sign. We just kind of throw. 45 00:02:42,720 --> 00:02:45,640 That must be God's will. I prayed and it didn't happen. 46 00:02:46,520 --> 00:02:48,960 There is such a thing as the Word of Faith. 47 00:02:49,320 --> 00:02:52,440 There is a, there's a faith for the moment you speak the word 48 00:02:52,680 --> 00:02:55,680 and you leave it there. But there are other things that 49 00:02:55,680 --> 00:02:58,000 there is a battle around something. 50 00:02:58,200 --> 00:03:00,440 And that's what we're talking about this morning. 51 00:03:01,080 --> 00:03:04,320 And when there's a battle around something, there's usually a, a 52 00:03:04,320 --> 00:03:09,120 specific dynamic which requires of us a specific type of 53 00:03:09,120 --> 00:03:11,720 relationship with God. And that's what we want to deal 54 00:03:11,720 --> 00:03:13,960 with this morning. So he says, put me in 55 00:03:13,960 --> 00:03:17,640 remembrance. Let us argue together, set forth 56 00:03:17,640 --> 00:03:21,080 your case. Do you have a case for what you 57 00:03:21,080 --> 00:03:24,600 want to see happen? Can you base your prayer request 58 00:03:24,640 --> 00:03:28,320 on the word of God? Because when you can, you can 59 00:03:28,320 --> 00:03:32,680 begin to move things with God. But there is there is a there's 60 00:03:32,680 --> 00:03:35,840 a qualification. We need to know the ways of God. 61 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:39,200 We need to know how God operates so that we can bring that before 62 00:03:39,200 --> 00:03:41,280 him and say, Hey, God, this, this isn't your word. 63 00:03:41,640 --> 00:03:43,800 This is how you said things happen. 64 00:03:43,960 --> 00:03:47,840 So I'm bringing it before you. And our ignorance ends up 65 00:03:47,840 --> 00:03:50,440 costing us much in the place of prayer. 66 00:03:51,040 --> 00:03:53,960 So let's look, we we talked about this last week, but I want 67 00:03:53,960 --> 00:03:56,400 to go back and just revisit this very quickly. 68 00:03:57,120 --> 00:04:00,840 Luke Chapter 11, I'm going to read out of the NIV because I 69 00:04:00,840 --> 00:04:02,640 want to hold a real Bible this morning. 70 00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:05,720 I was teaching in the school the other day and I wanted to say 71 00:04:05,720 --> 00:04:09,240 this book, but it just doesn't feel as dramatic when you lift 72 00:04:09,240 --> 00:04:12,400 up a laptop. So this book and it just flopped 73 00:04:12,400 --> 00:04:13,800 there. It just feels good, you know, 74 00:04:14,160 --> 00:04:18,839 OK, Luke Chapter 11, one day Jesus was praying in a certain 75 00:04:18,839 --> 00:04:20,720 place. When he finished, one of his 76 00:04:20,720 --> 00:04:24,400 disciples said to him, Lord, teach us to pray just as John 77 00:04:24,400 --> 00:04:27,000 taught his disciples. So the disciples are hanging 78 00:04:27,160 --> 00:04:29,920 with Jesus. They see and listen to him 79 00:04:29,920 --> 00:04:31,760 praying. And they said, man, he 80 00:04:31,760 --> 00:04:35,880 understands some things about prayer we don't the way he's 81 00:04:35,880 --> 00:04:38,120 praying. We see the answers to his 82 00:04:38,120 --> 00:04:40,200 prayer. We want to know how to get that. 83 00:04:40,880 --> 00:04:43,800 So these guys who have been hanging with Jesus, they didn't 84 00:04:43,800 --> 00:04:47,040 just get it by osmosis. They said, hey, teach us to 85 00:04:47,040 --> 00:04:49,360 pray. And then they said, because 86 00:04:49,360 --> 00:04:53,840 John's disciples, John the Baptist, Jesus, Cousin John the 87 00:04:53,840 --> 00:04:57,720 Southern Baptist, he was he he said, hey, we see that his his 88 00:04:57,720 --> 00:04:59,960 disciples know how to pray. We want to know how to pray. 89 00:05:00,200 --> 00:05:04,680 And so this is what Jesus says. He said to them, when you pray, 90 00:05:04,800 --> 00:05:12,000 say, Father hallowed be your name, your Kingdom come. 91 00:05:12,840 --> 00:05:15,400 Then he says, give us this day, Our Daily Bread. 92 00:05:15,400 --> 00:05:18,280 Forgive us our sins. And for we also forgive everyone 93 00:05:18,280 --> 00:05:21,400 who sins against us and lead us not into temptation. 94 00:05:21,720 --> 00:05:26,320 Give us, forgive us and lead us. They're asking for this 95 00:05:26,320 --> 00:05:29,800 provision, but he he says the first thing the out of your 96 00:05:29,800 --> 00:05:33,560 mouth is Father. And I would propose to you that 97 00:05:33,560 --> 00:05:37,080 there is a progression in the way we relate with God. 98 00:05:37,080 --> 00:05:41,320 There are facets of God's faith, God's character that we need to 99 00:05:41,320 --> 00:05:45,680 understand, and there the way that God shows you facets of his 100 00:05:45,680 --> 00:05:49,920 character is He takes you through circumstances where that 101 00:05:49,920 --> 00:05:52,840 facet of his character is necessary for you to make it 102 00:05:52,840 --> 00:05:55,640 through. That facet, that revelation of 103 00:05:55,640 --> 00:05:58,200 who he is is the very thing you're going to need to carry 104 00:05:58,200 --> 00:06:01,240 you through. You want to know God is healer, 105 00:06:02,720 --> 00:06:05,280 then someone's got to be sick, someone's got to have an injury. 106 00:06:05,280 --> 00:06:08,320 I'm not saying God put it on him, but God will reveal himself 107 00:06:08,320 --> 00:06:11,840 as the answer by bringing you into the vicinity of a need, 108 00:06:11,840 --> 00:06:14,520 either your sickness or someone else's, and he will reveal 109 00:06:14,520 --> 00:06:17,720 himself as healer. And the fact is, without that, 110 00:06:17,720 --> 00:06:22,320 without a problem, God as solution will never be known. 111 00:06:22,680 --> 00:06:26,840 God is not a God of theory. He always reveals himself in the 112 00:06:26,840 --> 00:06:30,280 context of human need because otherwise it's merely 113 00:06:30,280 --> 00:06:32,600 information and information never changed anyone. 114 00:06:33,160 --> 00:06:36,400 It's revelation. And so God will lead you through 115 00:06:36,400 --> 00:06:40,200 circumstances and then reveal himself as the answer to your 116 00:06:40,200 --> 00:06:44,080 circumstances. And so he first tells us believe 117 00:06:44,080 --> 00:06:48,360 him or approach him as father. We we did a podcast Friday with 118 00:06:48,360 --> 00:06:50,960 Sandra roar. Some of you have heard Sandra's 119 00:06:51,480 --> 00:06:56,080 story and read her book. It's an amazing story and she 120 00:06:56,080 --> 00:06:58,880 wrote a book on her story and the podcast is going to be 121 00:06:58,880 --> 00:07:01,320 coming out here in a week or so. Want to encourage you. 122 00:07:01,320 --> 00:07:04,120 It really is an amazing story. I was blown away all over again. 123 00:07:04,480 --> 00:07:09,280 But her book was about how God revealed himself, the different 124 00:07:09,280 --> 00:07:13,320 facets of His character to meet her need as she went along. 125 00:07:15,920 --> 00:07:18,400 I want to build on that and I would propose to you that there 126 00:07:18,400 --> 00:07:22,160 is a progression to the revelation of his character. 127 00:07:22,720 --> 00:07:28,240 It starts with Father Jesus as your Savior came to reconcile 128 00:07:28,240 --> 00:07:31,080 you to the Father. But it doesn't stop there. 129 00:07:31,600 --> 00:07:37,400 OK, He said then look, jump down versed verse 5, verse 5. 130 00:07:37,640 --> 00:07:41,240 Then he said to them, suppose one of you has a friend, and he 131 00:07:41,240 --> 00:07:44,240 goes to him at midnight and says, Friend lend ME3 loaves of 132 00:07:44,240 --> 00:07:47,000 bread. So first we approach God as 133 00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:49,840 Father. But there is a progression where 134 00:07:49,840 --> 00:07:55,360 we we enter into friendship with God and that is a fascinating 135 00:07:55,360 --> 00:07:58,040 subject. There are a few people in 136 00:07:58,040 --> 00:08:01,360 scripture who are referred to as a friend of God. 137 00:08:03,600 --> 00:08:11,200 I don't know about you, but that deeply stirs me that God would 138 00:08:11,200 --> 00:08:18,640 refer to a human being as his friend and he has room for more 139 00:08:18,640 --> 00:08:22,400 friends. He's looking to and fro for 140 00:08:22,400 --> 00:08:25,560 friends then that stereo that can. 141 00:08:25,720 --> 00:08:29,160 Can you imagine that God talking to someone else and saying hey 142 00:08:29,680 --> 00:08:32,640 that one Speaking of you is one of my friends. 143 00:08:34,280 --> 00:08:41,240 It's amazing to be a confidant of God that God is one of those 144 00:08:41,240 --> 00:08:44,280 people are his friends there. Abraham was called a friend of 145 00:08:44,280 --> 00:08:49,560 God and Abraham was one of the greatest intercessors that ever 146 00:08:49,560 --> 00:08:51,520 lived. And it's not a coincidence 147 00:08:51,960 --> 00:08:55,240 because fatherhood and friendship are actually 148 00:08:55,240 --> 00:08:58,400 foundational to true intercession because the 149 00:08:58,400 --> 00:09:00,960 qualification to be called a friend of God. 150 00:09:01,080 --> 00:09:02,960 Moses was called a friend of God. 151 00:09:03,200 --> 00:09:05,920 It says he spoke to God as though a friend would face to 152 00:09:05,920 --> 00:09:08,200 face. We're going to look at Moses 153 00:09:08,200 --> 00:09:13,120 this morning, But the other, there was a group of people that 154 00:09:13,120 --> 00:09:17,040 were called God's friends. Jesus said to his disciples, 155 00:09:17,240 --> 00:09:20,800 guys, I no longer call you disciples. 156 00:09:21,360 --> 00:09:22,880 In other words, there was a progression here. 157 00:09:23,160 --> 00:09:26,800 For a while they were disciples, taught ones, disciplined ones. 158 00:09:27,000 --> 00:09:30,400 But he said, hey, we've gone beyond that stage. 159 00:09:30,880 --> 00:09:33,840 He said, I no longer call you disciples. 160 00:09:34,160 --> 00:09:39,600 I now call you friends. And then he tells them why. 161 00:09:40,200 --> 00:09:44,200 What qualifies you to be a friend is Jesus said, because I 162 00:09:44,200 --> 00:09:46,640 told you everything the Father gave to me. 163 00:09:47,400 --> 00:09:51,040 You see, friendship with God means that God tells you his 164 00:09:51,040 --> 00:09:53,640 secrets. It's an old phrase. 165 00:09:53,760 --> 00:09:58,480 Secrets bind hearts together, and God is a God of secrets. 166 00:09:59,040 --> 00:10:02,120 He really is. He's a God of mysteries and he 167 00:10:02,120 --> 00:10:06,080 loves to pull people in and reveals to them mysteries. 168 00:10:06,440 --> 00:10:09,880 And so there's this friendship with God that is developed. 169 00:10:10,200 --> 00:10:14,800 We go from knowing God as Father, as children who look to 170 00:10:14,800 --> 00:10:17,080 him for provision. And that's what that prayer 171 00:10:17,360 --> 00:10:20,240 talked about. But then there's this intimacy 172 00:10:20,240 --> 00:10:24,720 with God where God's not just providing for us, He's sharing 173 00:10:24,720 --> 00:10:27,400 his heart with us. There's an intimacy of 174 00:10:27,400 --> 00:10:31,920 friendship with God. And there beyond that is the 175 00:10:31,920 --> 00:10:33,920 next one. So we look now look at what it 176 00:10:33,920 --> 00:10:38,400 says. So in in Luke 11, it says one 177 00:10:38,400 --> 00:10:41,400 day Jesus was praying in a certain place and that's what 178 00:10:41,400 --> 00:10:46,080 prompted the question. Now jump to Luke chapter 18. 179 00:10:46,280 --> 00:10:50,960 So in the chronological order of Luke, this is several chapters 180 00:10:50,960 --> 00:10:55,040 later and it says this then Jesus told his disciples A 181 00:10:55,040 --> 00:10:58,400 parable to show them they should always pray and not give up. 182 00:10:58,720 --> 00:11:01,400 So he had taught them about prayer. 183 00:11:01,520 --> 00:11:05,520 There was a bunch of activity, Kingdom activity that went that 184 00:11:05,520 --> 00:11:07,240 happened in the ensuing chapters. 185 00:11:07,240 --> 00:11:10,560 And we get to chapter 18. And then it says then in other 186 00:11:10,640 --> 00:11:13,840 words, that point in time. Now he lays out some more 187 00:11:13,960 --> 00:11:17,840 teaching on prayer, some things they weren't ready for before. 188 00:11:17,920 --> 00:11:19,920 But then he shared this with them. 189 00:11:19,920 --> 00:11:24,680 He said he's going to share a parable to show them they should 190 00:11:24,720 --> 00:11:28,960 always pray and not give up. If you are going to be an 191 00:11:28,960 --> 00:11:33,560 intercessor, and it is one of the greatest honors this side of 192 00:11:33,560 --> 00:11:37,800 heaven is to be a true intercessor, to yield to his 193 00:11:37,800 --> 00:11:41,960 purposes and to allow him to use your, your tears, your vocal 194 00:11:41,960 --> 00:11:45,800 cords, your heart, to pray his purposes into the earth where 195 00:11:45,800 --> 00:11:48,560 you begin to own the problem. Because you know it's God's 196 00:11:48,560 --> 00:11:53,720 will. And if we're ever going to do 197 00:11:53,720 --> 00:11:56,320 that, then we have to have tenacity. 198 00:11:57,360 --> 00:12:00,320 Importunity is an old King James Version word. 199 00:12:00,680 --> 00:12:03,840 I wrote it in my notes and Surrey tried to correct me. 200 00:12:04,920 --> 00:12:07,120 So I, I kind of, I kind of doubted myself. 201 00:12:07,120 --> 00:12:09,360 So I googled it and I was right and Surrey's wrong. 202 00:12:09,760 --> 00:12:11,800 And the reason I'm saying that, it's because Surrey's listening 203 00:12:11,800 --> 00:12:12,880 right now. I want to correct it. 204 00:12:14,240 --> 00:12:17,240 So importunity, it means a stubborn pursuit. 205 00:12:17,240 --> 00:12:19,840 It means we're going to dig our heels and we're going to be 206 00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:22,680 we're going to be stubborn. We we're going to lock onto that 207 00:12:22,680 --> 00:12:27,480 bone and not let go. We have to have faith to be an 208 00:12:27,480 --> 00:12:31,800 intercessor. And so there's fatherhood, 209 00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:36,880 friendship, and then there's this approaching him in this 210 00:12:36,880 --> 00:12:41,320 other way. In chapter 18, then Jesus told 211 00:12:41,320 --> 00:12:44,080 the disciples to a parable to show them that they should 212 00:12:44,080 --> 00:12:46,520 always pray and not give up. And how does he frame God there? 213 00:12:47,240 --> 00:12:51,680 He said in a certain town there was a judge and it's an unjust 214 00:12:51,680 --> 00:12:53,800 judge. But he says if God, if an unjust 215 00:12:53,800 --> 00:12:57,320 judge, will give this woman what she wants because she keeps 216 00:12:57,320 --> 00:13:03,800 praying, then how much more will God give to us if we faint not? 217 00:13:05,880 --> 00:13:08,040 We talked about Abraham, one of the friends of God. 218 00:13:08,240 --> 00:13:14,720 It is not a coincidence that Abraham referred to God as the 219 00:13:14,720 --> 00:13:19,800 judge of all the earth. When he prayed for Sodom, he got 220 00:13:19,800 --> 00:13:22,560 in that pocket of intercession. He said God withhold your hand. 221 00:13:23,440 --> 00:13:25,320 He kept, he kept debating with God. 222 00:13:25,320 --> 00:13:29,240 He was arguing with God. We read out of Isaiah, Bring to 223 00:13:29,240 --> 00:13:32,920 remembrance, bring me, remind me of the things I've said. 224 00:13:33,160 --> 00:13:37,040 And then let's argue together. Let's have a back and forth 225 00:13:37,040 --> 00:13:38,920 dialogue here. Let's argue. 226 00:13:39,080 --> 00:13:40,920 I'm saying one thing, you say another. 227 00:13:41,840 --> 00:13:45,120 We don't think of God like that. Too many believers think that, 228 00:13:45,200 --> 00:13:47,120 well, God just determines what he's going to do. 229 00:13:47,120 --> 00:13:49,680 And we're just kind of like flotsam and that kind of, you 230 00:13:49,680 --> 00:13:51,760 know, beaten down the Little River of life. 231 00:13:51,760 --> 00:13:55,320 And we're shaped by life. God has put you in life for you 232 00:13:55,320 --> 00:13:58,480 to shape life. You're to be the change agent 233 00:13:58,480 --> 00:14:01,360 for heaven. But it takes faith that we come 234 00:14:01,360 --> 00:14:05,440 in here and we stake our claim. But those things need to be 235 00:14:05,440 --> 00:14:09,280 based on the Word. And I would propose to you on 236 00:14:09,280 --> 00:14:13,640 those matters where we must approach God as judge, it's 237 00:14:13,640 --> 00:14:17,680 because there are legal elements that are withholding the answer 238 00:14:17,680 --> 00:14:21,360 we're asking for. I woke up last week and this 239 00:14:21,360 --> 00:14:22,920 phrase just kept going through my head. 240 00:14:23,240 --> 00:14:27,160 The legalities of intercession. The legalities of intercession 241 00:14:28,600 --> 00:14:32,600 In order for you to understand the legalities of the spiritual 242 00:14:32,600 --> 00:14:36,400 realm and intercession, you must understand the ways of God. 243 00:14:36,600 --> 00:14:41,000 That's why friendship with God is foundational to intercession, 244 00:14:41,200 --> 00:14:45,120 because when you're his friend, He begins to show you his ways. 245 00:14:46,840 --> 00:14:49,600 Like Jesus said, I, I told you everything the Father showed me. 246 00:14:49,640 --> 00:14:52,000 So you're no longer a disciple, you're a friend. 247 00:14:52,640 --> 00:14:55,920 I've brought you up to my level. That's astounding thing to hear 248 00:14:55,920 --> 00:14:59,240 from the Son of God, but I've brought you to the point where 249 00:14:59,240 --> 00:15:02,920 you, you know what I know I'm sharing those things with you. 250 00:15:05,560 --> 00:15:09,680 And so we need to understand that God has given us an 251 00:15:09,680 --> 00:15:12,680 invitation. But the on the things that when 252 00:15:12,680 --> 00:15:16,400 we pray and we don't see movement, we must not surrender 253 00:15:16,400 --> 00:15:19,720 and just assume that it's not God's will to act. 254 00:15:20,320 --> 00:15:23,960 In fact, we're going to look at a passage this morning when God 255 00:15:23,960 --> 00:15:29,760 said something and Moses argued against it and God relented. 256 00:15:29,960 --> 00:15:32,240 It's an amazing thing. What do you do with that? 257 00:15:32,240 --> 00:15:36,200 Theologically? It's a, it's an astounding 258 00:15:36,200 --> 00:15:40,920 thing. So these friends of God, Moses 259 00:15:41,240 --> 00:15:46,160 and Abraham, Abraham approached him and said, will not the judge 260 00:15:46,160 --> 00:15:50,520 of all the earth do justly? You see, he's holding God to a 261 00:15:50,520 --> 00:15:53,400 standard. He's come before the throne. 262 00:15:53,520 --> 00:15:57,280 God had stated his intention and Abraham was like, no, Lord, 263 00:15:57,280 --> 00:15:59,320 wait, wait, wait. And the Lord said, OK, let's 264 00:15:59,320 --> 00:16:02,280 talk about this. And there's arguing back and 265 00:16:02,280 --> 00:16:08,480 forth and and Abraham begins to whittle down the if I could find 266 00:16:08,640 --> 00:16:12,720 20 those that are faithful to you, will you withhold your hand 267 00:16:12,720 --> 00:16:13,800 from the city? Yes. 268 00:16:14,200 --> 00:16:16,600 How about 15? He just keeps pushing the 269 00:16:16,600 --> 00:16:18,920 envelope. It's an amazing thing. 270 00:16:19,880 --> 00:16:23,560 And we see the same with Moses. Moses is arguing with God. 271 00:16:23,800 --> 00:16:32,760 Turn with me very quickly to let's look at Exodus chapter 32. 272 00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:40,400 Let's go to Exodus 32. Now in Exodus 21, Moses goes up 273 00:16:40,400 --> 00:16:43,640 on the mountain and he he tells the children of Israel. 274 00:16:43,640 --> 00:16:45,480 He says, hey, guys, I'm going up here. 275 00:16:45,680 --> 00:16:47,920 I'm going to go talk to God. You guys, you know, if you got 276 00:16:47,920 --> 00:16:53,680 any problems, go to Aaron and her, which probably wasn't the 277 00:16:53,680 --> 00:16:57,000 wisest thing because Aaron was a very poor leader and allowed 278 00:16:57,000 --> 00:17:00,720 some things to happen that which required Moses to pray. 279 00:17:01,440 --> 00:17:05,880 So between chapters 21 and 30, Moses is up on the mountain and 280 00:17:05,880 --> 00:17:07,880 all those chapters are God unpacking. 281 00:17:08,000 --> 00:17:09,839 This is how you're going to build the temple. 282 00:17:09,839 --> 00:17:12,560 These are the structure, these are the utensils. 283 00:17:12,560 --> 00:17:16,760 This is how you dress as a priest and all these things. 284 00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:23,599 And then at the end we hear this look in verse 34 or 32 verse 1. 285 00:17:25,200 --> 00:17:26,720 So wait a second. I'm sorry. 286 00:17:26,760 --> 00:17:31,400 Go, go back to verse 31. Verse. 287 00:17:35,920 --> 00:17:37,160 I'm sorry. Yeah, it is 32. 288 00:17:37,520 --> 00:17:39,840 OK, So what? It's like a movie. 289 00:17:39,960 --> 00:17:42,200 All of a sudden up on the mountain, you see this dialogue 290 00:17:42,200 --> 00:17:44,920 and then it said, meanwhile, that's what you put in here in 291 00:17:44,920 --> 00:17:47,880 verse 32 one. OK, Meanwhile, and the camera is 292 00:17:47,880 --> 00:17:51,600 shot now down in the valley. When the people saw that Moses 293 00:17:51,600 --> 00:17:53,880 delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered 294 00:17:53,880 --> 00:17:59,120 themselves together to Aaron and said to him, up, up, make us 295 00:17:59,120 --> 00:18:02,960 gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, notice how 296 00:18:02,960 --> 00:18:07,120 they call them this Moses. As for this Moses, the man who 297 00:18:07,120 --> 00:18:09,920 brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has 298 00:18:09,920 --> 00:18:12,240 become of him. You see, when Moses went up the 299 00:18:12,240 --> 00:18:14,480 mountain, if you look at the text back, and I don't want to 300 00:18:14,480 --> 00:18:18,720 say it's verse chapter 21, Moses goes up the mount and there's 301 00:18:18,720 --> 00:18:24,080 this cloud that looks like a burning tornado of activity over 302 00:18:24,400 --> 00:18:27,520 over the mountain. And Moses for seven days sits 303 00:18:27,520 --> 00:18:29,840 there and then he enters the cloud. 304 00:18:29,840 --> 00:18:33,160 Can you imagine? That's intense and the people 305 00:18:33,160 --> 00:18:35,840 are watching and they're thinking no man can live in 306 00:18:35,840 --> 00:18:40,360 that. And he he ascends into the cloud 307 00:18:40,600 --> 00:18:45,560 and for 40 days he's talking to God as of like a man would talk 308 00:18:45,560 --> 00:18:50,120 to a friend face to face. And God begins to unpack to him 309 00:18:50,120 --> 00:18:54,440 all the things about how to build a habitation for the Lord. 310 00:18:55,960 --> 00:18:59,120 When you get in the glory, you learn how to build a habitation. 311 00:19:01,040 --> 00:19:09,160 And then at the end then the Lord says, look at verse this, 312 00:19:11,000 --> 00:19:12,560 my computer does not want to cooperate. 313 00:19:12,840 --> 00:19:16,600 Look at verse 7. And the Lord said to Moses, So 314 00:19:16,600 --> 00:19:19,600 at the end of this long 40 day conversation, this is how the 315 00:19:19,600 --> 00:19:22,800 Lord closes it. Go down for your people whom you 316 00:19:22,800 --> 00:19:26,120 brought up out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. 317 00:19:26,680 --> 00:19:30,360 Isn't that interesting Moses? Your people whom you brought 318 00:19:30,360 --> 00:19:34,760 out, they have corrupted themselves. 319 00:19:34,760 --> 00:19:38,120 They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded 320 00:19:38,120 --> 00:19:40,040 them. They have made for themselves a 321 00:19:40,040 --> 00:19:43,080 golden calf and have worshipped it and sacrificed to it and 322 00:19:43,080 --> 00:19:46,640 said, these are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out 323 00:19:46,640 --> 00:19:49,520 of the land of Egypt. And the Lord said to Moses, I 324 00:19:49,520 --> 00:19:53,640 have seen this people and behold, it is a stiff necked 325 00:19:53,880 --> 00:19:56,120 people. And now listen to what he says 326 00:19:56,120 --> 00:19:57,120 here. This is sobering. 327 00:19:57,360 --> 00:20:05,960 Now therefore let me alone that my wrath may burn hot against 328 00:20:05,960 --> 00:20:11,600 them and I may consume them in order that I may make a great 329 00:20:11,600 --> 00:20:16,040 nation for you. What a terrifying thing. 330 00:20:16,840 --> 00:20:18,720 And, and Moses didn't have to weigh. 331 00:20:18,720 --> 00:20:19,960 I wonder if that's from the Lord. 332 00:20:19,960 --> 00:20:22,280 I wonder if that that was a word from the Lord. 333 00:20:22,280 --> 00:20:24,280 You know, I want to weigh this against the Scriptures. 334 00:20:24,680 --> 00:20:29,160 He's talking to God. He's in the fiery glory of God. 335 00:20:29,320 --> 00:20:32,200 He's listening to that. And the Lord says, now we're 336 00:20:32,200 --> 00:20:39,080 done, leave me alone, that my anger may burn hot and I may 337 00:20:39,080 --> 00:20:43,800 consume them. That is a sobering, sobering 338 00:20:43,800 --> 00:20:50,280 thing to hear. But what's astounding is Moses's 339 00:20:50,280 --> 00:20:52,440 response. Listen to what he says. 340 00:20:53,520 --> 00:21:00,960 But Moses implored the Lord his God, and said, O Lord, why does 341 00:21:00,960 --> 00:21:06,040 your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you brought out of 342 00:21:06,040 --> 00:21:08,880 the land of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? 343 00:21:13,680 --> 00:21:19,320 He was arguing with God. And in this fascinating 344 00:21:19,320 --> 00:21:23,400 interchange, Moses says, God, they're your people, you brought 345 00:21:23,400 --> 00:21:24,680 them out. God said they're your people, 346 00:21:24,680 --> 00:21:27,000 you brought them out. And which one was right? 347 00:21:27,080 --> 00:21:29,760 Uh huh. They both had a side of the 348 00:21:29,760 --> 00:21:33,640 truth here. And intercession requires both 349 00:21:33,680 --> 00:21:37,400 own this thing. See, God is looking for a people 350 00:21:37,600 --> 00:21:40,320 who will own the situation they're praying for. 351 00:21:41,560 --> 00:21:46,280 Intercession requires A tenacity and an ownership of the issues 352 00:21:46,280 --> 00:21:50,520 being prayed about that other prayers will not exercise. 353 00:21:52,800 --> 00:21:55,840 I think I shared this recent but I read a book years ago 354 00:21:55,960 --> 00:21:59,000 Visioneering. It was an OK book but the whole 355 00:21:59,000 --> 00:22:02,640 book was worth the price of the book for this one phrase. 356 00:22:02,920 --> 00:22:05,840 The guy said what could be is an idea. 357 00:22:05,840 --> 00:22:10,160 What should be is a dream, what must be is a vision. 358 00:22:11,520 --> 00:22:13,960 When I read that I thought, man that's prayer. 359 00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:18,360 There are could be prayers. Take it or leave it. 360 00:22:18,360 --> 00:22:20,760 Lord, it'd be nice. And then you, you go on your 361 00:22:20,760 --> 00:22:24,120 merry way and then there should be prayers When you start 362 00:22:24,120 --> 00:22:26,400 digging in and you're you're feeling like man, this boy. 363 00:22:27,040 --> 00:22:30,920 We, you know, we spend a little more time on those prayers about 364 00:22:30,920 --> 00:22:33,320 the time it begins to cost us. We think, well, it must not be 365 00:22:33,320 --> 00:22:37,120 God's will. But then there are must be 366 00:22:37,120 --> 00:22:43,680 prayers and God is looking for a must be prayer that digs their 367 00:22:43,680 --> 00:22:47,840 heels and it says, God, this cannot be, we've got to see you 368 00:22:47,840 --> 00:22:50,440 move. And the amazing thing about 369 00:22:50,440 --> 00:22:54,000 Moses, because of his friendship with God, he was able to 370 00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:57,360 interpret what God was saying. Well, most of us would have 371 00:22:57,360 --> 00:23:01,160 melted into a puddle and just kind of dripped down the 372 00:23:01,160 --> 00:23:04,080 mountain. When God says leave me and 373 00:23:04,080 --> 00:23:10,680 that's a cries of intercession. Leave me alone that my anger may 374 00:23:10,680 --> 00:23:14,320 burn when they heard when most of us would have heard that we 375 00:23:14,320 --> 00:23:15,640 would have thought it's all over. 376 00:23:15,960 --> 00:23:19,880 Oh my goodness and even the enticement because God says to 377 00:23:19,880 --> 00:23:22,280 him and I'll make a great nation out of you. 378 00:23:22,280 --> 00:23:23,720 I've had it up to here with them. 379 00:23:23,840 --> 00:23:26,720 I'll wipe them all out and it'll be the nation of MO. 380 00:23:27,440 --> 00:23:31,680 Well people will hear about you from years to come the Mosesites 381 00:23:32,040 --> 00:23:34,840 but that Moses stays in the pocket and what does he do? 382 00:23:34,840 --> 00:23:38,160 He starts saying to God. He said God, but what about what 383 00:23:38,160 --> 00:23:40,200 you told Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? 384 00:23:40,200 --> 00:23:42,960 He's reminding God of his promises. 385 00:23:42,960 --> 00:23:46,880 It's an amazing thing and what most people would have taken as 386 00:23:46,880 --> 00:23:52,280 a command and even a word of inevitability that this is going 387 00:23:52,280 --> 00:23:53,680 to happen. God's going to wipe them out. 388 00:23:53,840 --> 00:23:55,280 There's no way I can talk it out. 389 00:23:55,520 --> 00:24:00,360 God told me I have to leave. What most of us looked at as 390 00:24:00,360 --> 00:24:05,520 inevitable, Moses recognized as an invitation into intercession. 391 00:24:06,280 --> 00:24:09,520 There was a little crack in the door and a little light coming 392 00:24:09,520 --> 00:24:12,280 through. And Moses, his hope rose up. 393 00:24:12,440 --> 00:24:16,040 And he said, wait a minute, God, are you saying that you've got 394 00:24:16,040 --> 00:24:19,000 to be alone in order for your anger to burn hot? 395 00:24:19,760 --> 00:24:25,560 Because God said, leave me alone so that in order that so that my 396 00:24:25,560 --> 00:24:28,280 anger can burn hot? And Moses said, that's all I 397 00:24:28,280 --> 00:24:32,480 needed to hear. You mean you can't burn hot as 398 00:24:32,480 --> 00:24:36,720 long as there's an intercessor and Moses digs his heel in. 399 00:24:36,880 --> 00:24:41,080 Moses digs his heels in. And it's, it's not disobedience, 400 00:24:41,080 --> 00:24:45,520 it's revelation based on friendship because he knew God 401 00:24:45,520 --> 00:24:50,480 that intimately. And so many of us, we, we hear 402 00:24:50,480 --> 00:24:53,680 words, whether you read it in the Bible or you hear a 403 00:24:53,680 --> 00:24:56,440 prophetic word and we think, oh, that's inevitable. 404 00:24:56,440 --> 00:24:59,760 And I'm telling you, there are things in the economy of heaven, 405 00:24:59,920 --> 00:25:03,720 there are things in the Kingdom that God says, but they will not 406 00:25:03,720 --> 00:25:05,880 happen without human cooperation. 407 00:25:08,480 --> 00:25:12,600 When I was young, I, I was a David Wilkerson disciple. 408 00:25:12,600 --> 00:25:16,920 I mean, I, I met him one time, I heard him preach, but I didn't, 409 00:25:17,040 --> 00:25:22,280 I never was around him per SE, but I read his newsletters and 410 00:25:22,280 --> 00:25:26,280 I'll never forget in 19, it was in the 80s, he came out with his 411 00:25:26,280 --> 00:25:28,120 book, Set the Trumpet to Thy Mouth. 412 00:25:28,120 --> 00:25:31,200 Some of you remember that book. I remember getting that book. 413 00:25:31,200 --> 00:25:33,640 Now, David Wilkerson was a tremendous man of God. 414 00:25:34,920 --> 00:25:40,080 He was, his teaching shaped me as a young man and he was very 415 00:25:40,080 --> 00:25:41,600 prophetic. He would say he wasn't a 416 00:25:41,600 --> 00:25:44,720 prophet. That's arguable, but I remember 417 00:25:44,720 --> 00:25:48,240 opening that book and this was the opening line to that book. 418 00:25:49,720 --> 00:25:55,080 America will be destroyed by atomic bomb from Russia because 419 00:25:55,080 --> 00:25:58,240 America has sinned and America will be no more. 420 00:25:59,360 --> 00:26:03,320 I closed that book from a man that I so esteemed and went into 421 00:26:03,320 --> 00:26:11,120 despair for about a decade. I couldn't argue that America 422 00:26:11,120 --> 00:26:13,200 deserves the judgement of God. Who doesn't? 423 00:26:14,640 --> 00:26:17,600 And then you look at the great light that America has and what 424 00:26:17,600 --> 00:26:21,840 we'd sinned against, and I just despaired because I didn't 425 00:26:21,920 --> 00:26:24,440 understand. I didn't have friendship with 426 00:26:24,440 --> 00:26:26,600 God. I hadn't come to the place where 427 00:26:26,600 --> 00:26:30,640 I know His ways. But see, Moses knew his ways. 428 00:26:30,800 --> 00:26:32,320 Again, Moses didn't have to wait. 429 00:26:32,320 --> 00:26:34,000 Was that a prophetic word? Was that accurate? 430 00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:36,000 Maybe, you know, maybe that was a false word. 431 00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:38,160 Maybe I heard that wrong. He heard it directly from the 432 00:26:38,160 --> 00:26:41,160 voice of God, but yet he understood this is not 433 00:26:41,160 --> 00:26:43,840 inevitable. It's an invitation, and it's not 434 00:26:43,840 --> 00:26:48,320 an expression of God's desire. See, there's times where we'll 435 00:26:48,320 --> 00:26:51,640 see, we'll hear a prophetic word or we'll see something in the 436 00:26:51,640 --> 00:26:55,760 Word, and we think everything is an expression of God's desire. 437 00:26:56,440 --> 00:27:00,680 Judgement is not God's desire. It's very clear He's not willing 438 00:27:00,680 --> 00:27:04,280 that any should perish, but it is His intention. 439 00:27:04,280 --> 00:27:08,680 If he doesn't have one thing, someone in his face, if he is 440 00:27:08,680 --> 00:27:12,640 left alone on a matter, then God fully intends to follow through 441 00:27:12,640 --> 00:27:14,840 on what He said. But he's looking and even 442 00:27:14,840 --> 00:27:18,120 enticing. Can I find someone who will 443 00:27:18,120 --> 00:27:23,720 contend with me and argue my promises, my principles, and 444 00:27:23,720 --> 00:27:25,720 remind me of the things I've said? 445 00:27:26,400 --> 00:27:30,400 And Moses understood that. So he threw himself in that. 446 00:27:30,640 --> 00:27:34,800 And you could read this text and think Moses disobeyed God. 447 00:27:35,640 --> 00:27:38,160 God said, leave me alone. And Moses said, with all due 448 00:27:38,160 --> 00:27:43,400 respect, no, not because he was disobedient, not because he was 449 00:27:43,400 --> 00:27:47,600 arrogant, but because Moses understood the heart of God in 450 00:27:47,600 --> 00:27:52,160 friendship. Moses was he would cry out, 451 00:27:52,160 --> 00:27:57,240 Lord, show me your ways. Moses is called a friend of God 452 00:27:57,400 --> 00:28:00,040 and it repeatedly said that Moses has favor with God. 453 00:28:00,160 --> 00:28:04,080 We read in this passage where Moses says he says to God, God, 454 00:28:04,080 --> 00:28:09,680 if I found favor with you, show me your ways so that I may find 455 00:28:09,680 --> 00:28:13,760 favor with you. See, that was so valuable to 456 00:28:13,760 --> 00:28:16,360 Moses. I want to be a friend. 457 00:28:16,800 --> 00:28:22,680 I want to have favor with God. I want him to be kindly disposed 458 00:28:22,680 --> 00:28:24,160 towards me. I want us. 459 00:28:24,160 --> 00:28:26,520 There's nothing to be between our relationship. 460 00:28:26,800 --> 00:28:29,680 I want to walk in the favor of God and Lord. 461 00:28:29,680 --> 00:28:33,000 If I have any favor, I'm asking God, would you show me your way 462 00:28:33,000 --> 00:28:35,840 so I can cooperate with them? So I can't have more favor. 463 00:28:36,440 --> 00:28:39,720 And there's something about leveraging your personal favor 464 00:28:39,720 --> 00:28:41,680 on behalf of others in intercession. 465 00:28:43,040 --> 00:28:46,360 We need to pray. We need to get get a hold of the 466 00:28:46,360 --> 00:28:48,640 heart of God. There are words that have been 467 00:28:48,640 --> 00:28:51,600 released about judgement against the United States of America, 468 00:28:51,800 --> 00:28:55,080 and I believe some of them came from the throne of God itself. 469 00:28:55,560 --> 00:28:57,400 But I don't believe they're inevitable. 470 00:28:57,600 --> 00:29:01,280 I believe they're invitations from God to find intercessors 471 00:29:01,280 --> 00:29:05,040 who will contend and say, God, withhold your hand and do what 472 00:29:05,040 --> 00:29:07,680 Moses did. And Moses said, God, please, 473 00:29:08,160 --> 00:29:11,240 Lord, think of, think of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 474 00:29:11,240 --> 00:29:13,640 Remember the promise you made. I'm reminding you, Lord and 475 00:29:13,640 --> 00:29:17,480 Lord, think about the heathen, the the Egyptians that you 476 00:29:17,480 --> 00:29:20,080 delivered your people with a strong right arm. 477 00:29:20,080 --> 00:29:22,640 You brought them out, not me. You did and you brought them 478 00:29:22,640 --> 00:29:24,320 out. And what are they going to think 479 00:29:24,320 --> 00:29:26,040 that you just did that to kill him? 480 00:29:26,440 --> 00:29:29,280 And he begins to argue and it says, and God relented. 481 00:29:31,120 --> 00:29:33,720 Now some people will will tell you that that's called an 482 00:29:33,720 --> 00:29:37,000 anthropomorphism. It's a big theological word, 483 00:29:37,280 --> 00:29:41,120 simply mean God was trying to relate with man as a man, and he 484 00:29:41,120 --> 00:29:42,880 wasn't really. He didn't really mean that. 485 00:29:43,040 --> 00:29:45,840 He was just trying to relate with Adam, or I mean Moses on 486 00:29:45,840 --> 00:29:47,600 his level. But I'm telling you that is 487 00:29:47,600 --> 00:29:50,840 absolutely not true because God cannot be insincere. 488 00:29:51,480 --> 00:29:54,000 If he says I'm going to destroy them, he would have destroyed 489 00:29:54,000 --> 00:29:55,760 them. God is a man of a being of 490 00:29:55,760 --> 00:29:57,640 integrity. There's no shadow of turning 491 00:29:57,640 --> 00:29:59,440 within him when he says something. 492 00:29:59,600 --> 00:30:03,080 But what he was looking for is someone to argue the legalities 493 00:30:03,080 --> 00:30:06,080 of this thing. And Moses was a man who knew his 494 00:30:06,080 --> 00:30:09,600 ways and therefore he could read what God was really saying. 495 00:30:12,000 --> 00:30:15,520 And God is looking for someone who will get stand in the gap. 496 00:30:15,840 --> 00:30:17,960 That's a, that's a phrase right out of Ezekiel. 497 00:30:17,960 --> 00:30:22,080 I want to say it's chapter 22 where God is looking across the 498 00:30:22,080 --> 00:30:24,080 earth looking for someone to stand in the gap. 499 00:30:25,600 --> 00:30:29,680 And one of the ideas behind that phrase that that illustration is 500 00:30:29,680 --> 00:30:33,040 that there were walled cities to to protect the people. 501 00:30:33,280 --> 00:30:35,680 But at times there would be a part of the wall, there'd be a 502 00:30:35,680 --> 00:30:38,560 hole in it or the enemy would come in and ravage the people. 503 00:30:38,680 --> 00:30:41,600 And God was saying, is there anybody who will stand at that 504 00:30:41,600 --> 00:30:45,480 hole and wore off the enemy? Is there anybody that will will 505 00:30:45,760 --> 00:30:49,040 plug that hole and battle so the city can be safe? 506 00:30:49,240 --> 00:30:53,280 Can I find one who's not content just to get what they want, but 507 00:30:53,280 --> 00:30:55,680 they're willing to pick up the burdens of others and own this 508 00:30:55,680 --> 00:30:58,880 thing? And that's what intercession is. 509 00:31:03,040 --> 00:31:08,920 It is such an awesome thing that you can interact with God and 510 00:31:08,920 --> 00:31:13,440 'cause God to relent. It's an amazing thing. 511 00:31:13,680 --> 00:31:17,680 God relented because of Moses. And then the next chapter, you 512 00:31:17,680 --> 00:31:19,480 know what Moses does, he goes down. 513 00:31:19,640 --> 00:31:22,960 It's, it's really interesting. It says, he said, it says, God 514 00:31:22,960 --> 00:31:25,720 says, so that my anger may burn hot against them. 515 00:31:25,920 --> 00:31:28,600 And then Moses says, Lord, why should your anger burn hot 516 00:31:28,600 --> 00:31:30,160 against them? I'm going to give you all these 517 00:31:30,160 --> 00:31:32,080 reasons to relent. God said, OK, I'll relent. 518 00:31:32,160 --> 00:31:35,960 And then Moses and that says, and Moses is anger burned hot 519 00:31:35,960 --> 00:31:41,480 against them and he took the the the tablets that God, it says 520 00:31:41,480 --> 00:31:43,840 they were the work of God written with the words of God 521 00:31:43,840 --> 00:31:46,480 and he broke them at the core of the mountain and a bunch of 522 00:31:46,480 --> 00:31:47,880 people died. It was crazy. 523 00:31:48,120 --> 00:31:50,840 And then he goes back up and the Lord said, OK, now this time you 524 00:31:50,840 --> 00:31:52,520 carve the tablets and I'll still write on them. 525 00:31:52,720 --> 00:31:54,880 So now we have the work of man with the writing of God. 526 00:31:56,600 --> 00:31:59,520 But Moses anger burned hot against them. 527 00:32:01,080 --> 00:32:03,400 See, Moses was a true intercessor before God. 528 00:32:03,400 --> 00:32:05,080 He represent the people before the people. 529 00:32:05,080 --> 00:32:09,640 He represented God. It was that go between suspended 530 00:32:09,640 --> 00:32:14,080 between heaven and earth like Jesus until the two can be 531 00:32:14,080 --> 00:32:16,400 merged. That's what intercession is. 532 00:32:17,480 --> 00:32:22,520 And God is looking for people who will pick up the the the 533 00:32:23,120 --> 00:32:26,560 burden for someone else until they can do it for themselves. 534 00:32:28,120 --> 00:32:31,440 I was thinking this morning about I ran into a woman a 535 00:32:31,440 --> 00:32:33,640 number of years ago. It was probably about 10 years 536 00:32:33,640 --> 00:32:37,120 after I got saved and she was part of the church my mom and 537 00:32:37,120 --> 00:32:40,800 dad were going to when I was homeless and we ran into each 538 00:32:40,800 --> 00:32:42,960 other and hey, how you doing? I hadn't seen her in years. 539 00:32:42,960 --> 00:32:45,080 I was just a young guy when when I knew her. 540 00:32:45,080 --> 00:32:49,600 And she said I've never told you this, but she said one night at 541 00:32:49,600 --> 00:32:53,320 First Open Bible in Ottumwa, IA, she said we were having a prayer 542 00:32:53,320 --> 00:32:56,520 service on a Sunday night. And she said I was at the altar 543 00:32:56,520 --> 00:33:01,040 and such a burden came on me. That was she said, I just began 544 00:33:01,040 --> 00:33:03,480 to weep for you. I couldn't leave the altar. 545 00:33:03,720 --> 00:33:06,960 There was this urgency just to pray through until that thing 546 00:33:06,960 --> 00:33:10,360 lifted. Man, it brought tears to my eyes 547 00:33:11,440 --> 00:33:16,080 because I was in such a state that I could not see the truth. 548 00:33:16,400 --> 00:33:20,600 So somebody stepped in there and began to pray on my behalf. 549 00:33:20,600 --> 00:33:24,240 So the atmosphere around my darkened understanding would 550 00:33:24,240 --> 00:33:28,080 begin to lift and I could see the purposes of God for my life. 551 00:33:28,080 --> 00:33:31,600 I could see the truth of God. It's right out of Second 552 00:33:31,600 --> 00:33:35,480 Corinthians chapter 4. It says the God of this world 553 00:33:35,680 --> 00:33:38,840 has blinded the minds of an unbeliever. 554 00:33:40,920 --> 00:33:45,080 So there's there's this dynamic in several passages of Scripture 555 00:33:45,320 --> 00:33:48,480 called the darkening of the understanding. 556 00:33:49,520 --> 00:33:52,120 It's also referred to as the hardening of the heart. 557 00:33:52,480 --> 00:33:55,680 It's one and the same thing because the hardened heart will 558 00:33:55,680 --> 00:33:57,640 result in a darkened understanding. 559 00:33:58,280 --> 00:34:00,680 A hardened heart is I'm going to reject the truth you're giving 560 00:34:00,680 --> 00:34:04,000 me in the moment, but it sets in motion a process where the 561 00:34:04,000 --> 00:34:07,920 faculty to receive any more truth begins to darken. 562 00:34:07,920 --> 00:34:11,800 So we can't perceive truth. We're darkened in understanding. 563 00:34:11,960 --> 00:34:16,080 The God of this world blinds the minds of unbelievers, and Paul 564 00:34:16,159 --> 00:34:19,920 warns us in Ephesians chapter 4 that believers can actually 565 00:34:19,920 --> 00:34:23,520 begin to walk in such a way, the futility of their thinking, they 566 00:34:23,520 --> 00:34:26,719 walk like the Gentiles and they can actually bring the same on 567 00:34:26,719 --> 00:34:30,120 themselves. They not only forfeit the 568 00:34:30,280 --> 00:34:33,639 principle, God's dealing with them in the moment, they're also 569 00:34:34,159 --> 00:34:36,080 begin to lose what they once had. 570 00:34:36,080 --> 00:34:39,360 Ignorance begins to set in, Paul says in Ephesians 4. 571 00:34:41,360 --> 00:34:44,960 And So what needs to happen for people like that is somebody 572 00:34:44,960 --> 00:34:47,600 needs to step in and begin to pray for those people. 573 00:34:47,600 --> 00:34:52,639 That's why Daniel, it said he confessed his sins and the sins 574 00:34:52,639 --> 00:34:54,480 of his people. He was an intercessor. 575 00:34:55,639 --> 00:34:58,760 Daniel not only confessed his sins, he said, Lord, forgive 576 00:34:58,760 --> 00:35:01,400 them because there was a legal precedence. 577 00:35:01,560 --> 00:35:06,440 You see, the enemy exercises legal precedence over nations, 578 00:35:06,640 --> 00:35:09,720 cities, families, and individuals. 579 00:35:10,800 --> 00:35:15,240 And if we don't see movement quickly in prayer so often, we 580 00:35:15,240 --> 00:35:18,000 just resign ourself. Well, I guess this is God's 581 00:35:18,000 --> 00:35:20,520 will. When it's not, there's simply a 582 00:35:20,520 --> 00:35:23,320 legal precedence. We've approached him as Father. 583 00:35:23,320 --> 00:35:27,480 We've approached him as friend. But what this situation requires 584 00:35:27,640 --> 00:35:32,680 is approaching him as judge and arguing a case and the spirit of 585 00:35:32,680 --> 00:35:36,880 a living God who lives within us and is the intercessor who prays 586 00:35:36,880 --> 00:35:42,080 for us according to Romans chapter 8, He begins to teach us 587 00:35:42,120 --> 00:35:46,160 all things and we begin to learn God's ways and we can get in 588 00:35:46,160 --> 00:35:49,720 that spot and we can actually push back darkness so that 589 00:35:49,720 --> 00:35:54,560 person can finally see. We don't have time to get in 590 00:35:54,560 --> 00:35:59,320 this, but Romans 8 it says that there's three intercessors. 591 00:35:59,320 --> 00:36:03,440 In Romans 8, we intercede, the son intercedes, he intercedes 592 00:36:03,440 --> 00:36:05,360 for us and we're the subject of his prayer. 593 00:36:05,360 --> 00:36:07,840 God help Dave, he has, he's running out of time down there. 594 00:36:07,840 --> 00:36:09,000 Help him, help him. Father. 595 00:36:09,800 --> 00:36:12,560 I'm feel his prayers. And then it says the Spirit 596 00:36:12,560 --> 00:36:15,960 prays for us with words, with groans that cannot be 597 00:36:15,960 --> 00:36:20,320 articulated. So whereas Jesus is praying for 598 00:36:20,320 --> 00:36:23,000 me, I am the subject matter of his prayer. 599 00:36:23,640 --> 00:36:27,240 When the Spirit prays for me, I am the participant, I am the 600 00:36:27,240 --> 00:36:31,560 weapon, I am the agent, and there is a partnership with the 601 00:36:31,560 --> 00:36:34,960 Spirit and He prays through me. And I've got to get underneath 602 00:36:34,960 --> 00:36:37,200 that thing and I've got to become sensitive to His leadings 603 00:36:37,440 --> 00:36:41,120 and yield myself. And once we get in that pocket, 604 00:36:41,240 --> 00:36:44,680 we can see things begin to move. And God will show you principles 605 00:36:44,840 --> 00:36:47,600 that you can dismantle the strategy of the enemy. 606 00:36:47,880 --> 00:36:52,400 And even though God intends to judge because of his justice, 607 00:36:52,600 --> 00:36:58,400 he's looking for for an advocate to step in and argue the case so 608 00:36:58,400 --> 00:37:01,720 that he can begin to bring light to that situation. 609 00:37:02,320 --> 00:37:05,680 And so if you're not seeing movement in your prayer life, it 610 00:37:05,680 --> 00:37:10,800 very may very well be that God wants to show you some 611 00:37:10,800 --> 00:37:14,200 legalities to begin to deal with and begin to dismantle that 612 00:37:14,200 --> 00:37:17,160 thing. It's just like in Deliverance, 613 00:37:17,880 --> 00:37:20,960 people are demonized. They need deliverance, they need 614 00:37:20,960 --> 00:37:25,560 they need to be delivered. And it's because there's illegal 615 00:37:25,560 --> 00:37:28,160 things that they've gotten themselves into and they need to 616 00:37:28,160 --> 00:37:32,040 renounce those to get free. We can come in underneath that 617 00:37:32,040 --> 00:37:35,280 thing and begin to dismantle those things with a higher law 618 00:37:35,280 --> 00:37:38,480 with the argument with coming in with the word of God and begin 619 00:37:38,480 --> 00:37:40,280 to directly deal with those things. 620 00:37:40,560 --> 00:37:43,160 And you know what happens, Second Corinthians chapter 4, it 621 00:37:43,160 --> 00:37:48,880 says that the God of this world has blinded the minds of the 622 00:37:48,880 --> 00:37:51,440 unbelievers. They can't see the truth. 623 00:37:52,920 --> 00:37:55,760 It says the gospel is veiled. They, they just, they, they 624 00:37:55,760 --> 00:37:58,320 can't grasp it. You ever shared the gospel with 625 00:37:58,320 --> 00:37:59,640 someone? You can tell they ain't getting 626 00:37:59,640 --> 00:38:01,720 it. I mean, you can have the most 627 00:38:01,720 --> 00:38:04,840 articulate presentation. You can have your little chick 628 00:38:04,840 --> 00:38:08,080 track and all that you know and you can have your little your 629 00:38:08,360 --> 00:38:10,840 manuals in a but it's like there's a dullness. 630 00:38:11,960 --> 00:38:15,800 But in prayer we can begin to pray that that there's an 631 00:38:15,800 --> 00:38:17,440 enlightening of the understanding. 632 00:38:17,440 --> 00:38:21,840 And this is the phrase that Paul uses that the light of the 633 00:38:21,840 --> 00:38:27,000 knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus would 634 00:38:27,000 --> 00:38:31,840 be shed abroad in their heart. Man, that is a pregnant 635 00:38:31,840 --> 00:38:33,040 statement. Think about it. 636 00:38:33,200 --> 00:38:37,520 The light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of 637 00:38:37,520 --> 00:38:39,920 Christ Jesus shining in their heart. 638 00:38:40,320 --> 00:38:44,280 And it's alluding to Moses. It says that Moses his, he would 639 00:38:44,280 --> 00:38:45,800 come down from the mountain veiled. 640 00:38:45,800 --> 00:38:47,800 You know why? It says he would cover up his 641 00:38:47,800 --> 00:38:49,680 face so they didn't see the fading glory. 642 00:38:49,840 --> 00:38:51,800 He'd go up into that cloud. They were like, is he coming 643 00:38:51,800 --> 00:38:53,240 back out? He'd come out like a glow worm 644 00:38:53,400 --> 00:38:56,560 gave him credibility. You know, if I went to my office 645 00:38:56,560 --> 00:38:58,840 and every time I went to my office, there's a fiery cloud in 646 00:38:58,840 --> 00:39:00,960 front of the door and I came out glowing, you'd be fine. 647 00:39:01,080 --> 00:39:02,640 I want to hear what he has to say this morning. 648 00:39:03,760 --> 00:39:06,840 And so Moses said, I'm going to keep a cover so they don't see 649 00:39:06,840 --> 00:39:10,480 that it's fading. And then Paul springboards off 650 00:39:10,480 --> 00:39:13,960 and he said, and the gospel is veiled, but not to us, but to 651 00:39:13,960 --> 00:39:16,120 the unbeliever. They can't see it. 652 00:39:16,280 --> 00:39:19,320 They can't see through. So uranize prayer. 653 00:39:19,600 --> 00:39:24,920 And then what Paul is doing is he's alluding to creation story. 654 00:39:26,640 --> 00:39:31,680 He's using that as his template, that the Creator created it, but 655 00:39:31,680 --> 00:39:35,800 there it was formless and void, and the Spirit of God begin to 656 00:39:35,800 --> 00:39:38,280 hover over that formless dark void. 657 00:39:38,960 --> 00:39:43,120 And then the Lord spoke his word, let there be light, and 658 00:39:43,120 --> 00:39:46,120 there was light. And he's saying that's how 659 00:39:46,120 --> 00:39:50,280 salvation happens. There is a darkness, a dullness 660 00:39:50,280 --> 00:39:54,000 and inability to grasp, but somebody begins to pray and the 661 00:39:54,000 --> 00:39:56,440 Spirit of God begins to hover over that. 662 00:39:56,440 --> 00:39:59,600 We're like that laser target. We put the laser on the missiles 663 00:39:59,600 --> 00:40:01,840 going to hit it because we've already targeted them with 664 00:40:01,840 --> 00:40:03,560 prayer. And all of a sudden the Spirit 665 00:40:03,560 --> 00:40:06,360 of God begins to hover, and the Word of God comes, and there's 666 00:40:06,360 --> 00:40:08,560 light, and all of a sudden they can grasp. 667 00:40:08,800 --> 00:40:13,440 The gospel and a lot of times we're out there sharing with 668 00:40:13,440 --> 00:40:16,840 people wondering why don't they receive him, but they can't 669 00:40:16,840 --> 00:40:19,920 understand it. They need the light of 670 00:40:19,920 --> 00:40:23,440 revelation breaking in and all of a sudden they see it's a 671 00:40:23,440 --> 00:40:28,680 lifeline. Listen, God is extending an 672 00:40:28,680 --> 00:40:31,280 invitation to you to make a difference in human history. 673 00:40:31,520 --> 00:40:34,400 And there are things that God intends to do. 674 00:40:34,720 --> 00:40:38,000 It's an but it's an expression of intention, not desire. 675 00:40:38,680 --> 00:40:42,120 And if he can find someone that will side with his higher desire 676 00:40:42,120 --> 00:40:44,560 for redemption, he will do that very thing. 677 00:40:44,800 --> 00:40:48,200 But he needs an intercessor. He's looking to and fro 678 00:40:48,200 --> 00:40:53,400 throughout the earth. And so when God says leave me 679 00:40:53,400 --> 00:40:58,520 alone, Moses understood. Whoa, Lord, I know what you 680 00:40:58,520 --> 00:41:02,480 said, but because I know you, I know what you meant. 681 00:41:03,320 --> 00:41:07,560 And when you said so that my anger may burn, you left a crack 682 00:41:07,560 --> 00:41:10,840 in the door, allowing me to stay in the pocket. 683 00:41:11,640 --> 00:41:14,160 And he saved a nation. It's an amazing thing. 684 00:41:14,240 --> 00:41:15,840 You know what Moses does the next chapter? 685 00:41:15,960 --> 00:41:17,520 He goes down, rebukes the people. 686 00:41:17,640 --> 00:41:21,520 He goes back up, and he just saved a nation in intercession. 687 00:41:21,520 --> 00:41:23,360 Now he says, hey, God, show me your glory. 688 00:41:24,720 --> 00:41:28,000 Sky's never. It's never enough for Moses, And 689 00:41:28,000 --> 00:41:29,400 that's why God loved him. Let's stand. 690 00:41:32,280 --> 00:41:34,240 Listen, if you're here this morning and you don't know 691 00:41:34,360 --> 00:41:39,160 Jesus, that's the first step. God has a purpose for your life. 692 00:41:39,160 --> 00:41:45,160 You are meant to be a history changer, but you got to 693 00:41:45,160 --> 00:41:49,720 surrender your life to him. You got to meet him, his father. 694 00:41:50,280 --> 00:41:53,160 You got to become his friend so he can pull you into 695 00:41:53,160 --> 00:41:57,960 intercession and and history will become you'll be the hinge 696 00:41:57,960 --> 00:42:01,560 of history through your prayers. That's what God has for all of 697 00:42:01,560 --> 00:42:03,600 us. So I'm going to ask every head 698 00:42:03,600 --> 00:42:06,040 to be bowed. Father, I just pray, God, that 699 00:42:06,040 --> 00:42:09,000 you would open the eyes of our understanding and the knowledge 700 00:42:09,000 --> 00:42:14,280 of you, Lord, Lord, that you would help us, God, to 701 00:42:14,280 --> 00:42:18,880 understand the tremendous privilege you've invited us 702 00:42:18,880 --> 00:42:21,520 into. And Lord, stir our hearts. 703 00:42:22,000 --> 00:42:27,560 Lord make us hungry like Moses, never satisfied. 704 00:42:27,920 --> 00:42:31,480 We always want more because there's always more of you to 705 00:42:31,480 --> 00:42:35,040 have. Hey, thanks for watching. 706 00:42:35,520 --> 00:42:38,320 At Heartland Church, we love to worship the Lord and we love his 707 00:42:38,320 --> 00:42:40,600 word. In fact, if you could jump on 708 00:42:40,960 --> 00:42:43,960 and subscribe to our YouTube channel, you could make sure 709 00:42:43,960 --> 00:42:45,560 that you don't miss any of the services. 710 00:42:45,840 --> 00:42:48,840 We'd love to have you join us live or in person every week. 711 00:42:49,280 --> 00:42:50,160 See you next time.