Hello, I'm Shelley Quinn.
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Please join us today on
Pressing into His Presence,
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as we will learn how to
plead for the perishing.
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Welcome to
Pressing into His Presence.
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This series on prayer is
based on a teaching that I was
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privileged to share in a
book that is titled the same,
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Pressing into His Presence.
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And if you're following
along in your resource book,
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today we're going to begin
on Chapter 7, as we begin our
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discussion on
intercessory prayer.
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You know, I recall that first
day when the Lord was teaching
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me to press into His presence.
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I was sitting at His
feet learning how to pray.
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And after pressing in through
praising Him, and then pouring
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out my heart in repentance,
I was primed to ask God
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for His help to overcome
the problems of my life.
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But pausing, I remember that
it was the Holy Spirit who was
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to be directing me.
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So I said, Lord, how do you
want me to advance in prayer?
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Please teach me. And suddenly
a Vacation Bible School banner
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came to my mind. And this banner
said, Joy, J-O-Y, and it stood
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for Jesus, others, and yourself.
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Simply put, this profound
message implied that true joy
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was attained only when our
priorities are ordered such
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that Jesus is first, our
fellow man is second, and then,
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only then, is it safe
to focus on ourselves.
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I felt God was calling me to
intercede on behalf of others.
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Now my habit during intercessory
prayer had been to start with
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family members, and then
friends, then I would advance to
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broader circle of humanity.
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But the Holy Spirit ordered
my prayer, and to my surprise,
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He reversed my typical pattern.
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I was led to pray for
world situations and leaders,
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the destitute, and the down
trodden, believers around the
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world, then associates,
then church, family, friends,
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and extended family, and
then my close family members,
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and finally, for my
precious husband, J. D.
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And after several weeks of
praying like this, I understood
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why God ordered my
prayer in this fashion.
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I'm going to save that and
share that thought with you
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on a later program.
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But it's special! It's an
understatement to say that
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I did not have a good
understanding of intercessory
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prayer when I began.
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My feeble attempts were, to
say the least, lackluster until
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I learned the inherent power of
affirmations, which is what we
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talked about in
our last program.
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When I began pleading
God's promises over others,
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He practiced, He
polished my practice of prayer
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to a new brilliance.
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So beginning today, I'd like to
share a few highlights of what
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the Lord has taught me
about intercessory prayer.
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This important topic is going to
take several programs to cover.
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And I want to first give you
a preview of seven key points
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that we will be considering.
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When we have completed our
closer look at these points,
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I hope that your hearts
will be stirred to spend seasons
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in earnest
intercession, lifting others up
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before His throne of grace.
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It's so important!
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Now, as a matter of observation
only, we have been considering
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how the progression of
our prayer segments correlate
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with the ministry of
the sanctuary of old.
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Let's see how
intercession is related.
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A priest entering into the
Holy Place, which was the first
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compartment of the
sanctuary, would see to his left
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the table of showbread.
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Then over to his right would
be the golden candlesticks.
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But directly in front of
him was the altar of incense,
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at the far end of chamber.
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And that was centered
directly before the veil,
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the hanging door
between the Most Holy Place
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and the Holy Place.
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And this Most Holy Place
that this veil separated,
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was what contained
the ark of the testimony.
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Everything in the sanctuary
was representative of Christ,
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and of God's plan of redemption.
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As we discussed in our
last two programs, the table of
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showbread, and affirmations,
are connected in type.
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Now we will see how
intercession, and that golden
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altar of incense are
likewise connected in type.
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The altar of incense represented
Christ's intercession.
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A special incense
burned upon this golden altar
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morning and night.
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And it was a
compound of fragrant spices,
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and it had gums, and it
was a unique formula that was
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given by Moses to God.
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And it was required
for that golden altar.
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Pronounced Most Holy, this
special incense could be used
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exclusively in the Holy Place,
and for absolutely no other
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purpose. As the sweet spices
burned continually with fire
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taken from the
brazen altar of sacrifice,
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the perfume of their fragrance
permeated the Holy Place.
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Now in the earthly
days of sanctuary services,
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Aaron, the High
Priest, burned this incense
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upon the golden altar.
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But later the Levite priests
assumed the responsibility.
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The perfumed smoke rising from
the burning incense in front
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of the veil was an emblem of
prayer, and representative of
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Christ's continual
intercession for us.
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Let's look at three scriptures
for reference to this.
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First is Psalm
141:2. David said:
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And then in
Revelation 5:8 it says:
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And Revelation 8:3 tells us:
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Please note that a
special incense was mentioned
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in Revelation 8:3.
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This incense was added to those
prayers that were offered...
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It was added and offered
to the prayers of the saints
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when they reached
the throne room of God.
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And, by the way, let me
just take a sidebar here.
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The word saint means set apart
for God, and it is applied to
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all of God's people in both
the Old and the New Testaments.
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So, anyway, as we are praying
in intercession, and we exhaled
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the aroma of our prayers,
Christ adds His prayers to ours
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to give them the
perfumed fragrance that is
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pleasing to our Father.
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His Most Holy incense
added in heaven is the required
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ingredient of
God's special formula.
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It is presented with the
offering of the Lamb of God
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at Calvary's cross as symbolized
by the prescribed fire
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from the altar
of burnt offering.
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Only through Christ can
our prayers have efficacy.
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His intercession results in
the release of God's blessing.
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The Bible tells us that
there's only one mediator,
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only one who stands as
our advocate with the Father,
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Jesus Christ. He alone can
make our prayers acceptable.
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And it is in His name
only that we must pray.
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Christ, our great intercessor,
pleads for the perishing
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before God on the merits of what
He accomplished at the cross.
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Isaiah 53:5, 12 says this:
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Christ assigns the duty,
and grants the privilege of
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intercessory
prayer to His disciples.
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Not because of our merits,
but on the grounds of trusting
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in the One who died for
our sins, who lives to make
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intercession for us, and is able
to save us to the uttermost.
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Our prayers are
acceptable to God because
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of Christ's intercession.
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You know, in John 14:13,
14, Jesus instructs us to ask
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in His name, which
pleads His intercession.
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The Holy Spirit teaches us to
pray, and Christ's intercession
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makes it possible for
our prayers to be answered.
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Now before we advance in
this teaching, let me share an
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interested and related
note about the temple that stood
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during Jesus' days.
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Herod the Great, the
king of Judea at the time,
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built this temple, restoring it
to the former glory of Solomon's
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temple in an attempt to
gain favor with the Jews.
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Now M. G. Edwards,
excuse me, M. G. Easton's,
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Illustrated Dictionary of
the Bible, contains a drawing
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of the layout of Herod's temple.
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And depicted in the outer
court were the place of the
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slaughtering, and the
laver between the outer court
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and the Holy
Place, which is a portico.
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There was a portico.
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And that was kind of a,
sort of a open entryway porch.
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Three doors are labeled there.
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And what it says is that
the first door leading to the
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portico was
called the door of life.
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Then the second,
leading to the Holy Place,
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was called the door of truth.
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And the third door
to the Holy of Holies,
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was labeled the
door called the way.
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So there was the life,
the truth, and the way.
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Do you remember who is the
way, the truth, and the life?
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We'll get to that in a moment.
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But gazing on this
glorious temple, Jesus said in
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Matthew 24:2, Assuredly, I
say to you, not one stone shall
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be left upon another.
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Everything will be
cast down, He said.
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And true to His prophecy, Roman
legions ransacked this temple
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in A.D. 70. It
was utterly destroyed,
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and it was never rebuilt.
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In fact, I've been to Israel,
and the summit of Mount Moriah,
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where the temple once
stood, is now occupied by a
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Mohammadan Mosque, the
famous Dome of the Rock.
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There is no need for an
earthly edifice to serve
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as God's temple now.
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The sacrificial system of
the old covenant came to an end
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on the day Jesus
offered Himself up once for all.
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When Jesus died the
ultimate sacrifice was made
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to atone for the
sins of humanity,
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and Christ became
our eternal High Priest.
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All genuine believers become
members of His royal priesthood.
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God's throne of grace
is in His heavenly temple.
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And Revelation 11:19 says, Then
the temple of God was opened
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in heaven, and the ark of His
covenant was seen in His temple.
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The earthly temple was merely
a copy of the heavenly temple,
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and it was made according to the
pattern that God showed Moses
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on Mount Sinai. But now,
on earth, God's Spirit abides
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in living temples; in Christ's
disciples, in you and me.
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1 Corinthians
6:19, 20 says this:
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What an amazing thought to think
that we are the living temple
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of the living God.
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I submit that we also are
a copy, made according to the
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pattern shown on the Mount.
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Not Mount Sinai, No,
but the Mount of Calvary,
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where our true pattern, Jesus
Christ, revealed the summit
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of self sacrificing love.
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As He is, so must
we be in this world.
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God has no desire, and no need
for any other earthly temple.
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In fact, the book of Revelation
discloses that at the end
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of time, when the Holy
City, the New Jerusalem,
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descends from heaven to the
recreated earth, there will be
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no temple in it. Our
almighty God, and His beautiful
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sacrificed Son, are its temple.
00:15:50.38\00:15:52.72
In John 14:6 Jesus
said, I am the way,
00:15:52.75\00:15:59.34
the truth, and the life.
00:15:59.37\00:16:01.72
No one comes to the
Father except through Me.
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And He also said, in
John 10:9, I am the door.
00:16:05.30\00:16:10.70
If anyone enters by
Me, He will be saved.
00:16:10.73\00:16:15.88
Man labeled the three doors
of Herod's temple the life,
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that's the outer door;
the truth, going into the
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Holy Place; and the way,
going into the Holy of Holies.
00:16:26.17\00:16:30.66
Only one door: Jesus Christ,
is necessary to gain access
00:16:30.69\00:16:35.34
to God today. He is the
way, the truth, and the life.
00:16:35.37\00:16:40.32
As we press into God's
presence in His heavenly temple,
00:16:40.35\00:16:44.38
we enter in the name of Jesus,
our door to life and truth.
00:16:44.41\00:16:50.94
He is the new and living
way to approach our Holy God.
00:16:50.97\00:16:55.82
And when we intercede for
others, we symbolically stand
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in the Holy Place
before the throne of our king,
00:17:02.33\00:17:06.47
and here we enter into an
entirely different sphere of
00:17:06.50\00:17:12.46
prayer. We reach a higher
plane; a place that is very near
00:17:12.49\00:17:18.90
the heart of Christ.
00:17:18.93\00:17:20.12
Christ became flesh that
He might become our perfect
00:17:20.15\00:17:24.74
sacrifice, understand our every
weakness, and sympathize with us
00:17:24.77\00:17:29.13
as our great
intercessor before God.
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Hebrews 4:15 says:
00:17:32.60\00:17:35.51
To offer us the gift of
salvation Christ humbled Himself
00:17:48.35\00:17:54.63
even lower than the angels,
and to a humiliating, agonizing
00:17:54.66\00:17:59.95
death on the cross.
00:17:59.98\00:18:01.29
You know my friend,
Evangelist Kenneth Cox,
00:18:01.32\00:18:04.12
explains it this way.
00:18:04.15\00:18:05.25
I heard it once and
I'll never forget it.
00:18:05.28\00:18:07.00
He said, in God's
present order of created beings,
00:18:07.03\00:18:11.31
there are first of all
angels, then man, then animals,
00:18:11.34\00:18:14.98
and finally insects.
00:18:15.01\00:18:16.74
He compares
Christ's incarnation as a man
00:18:16.77\00:18:20.91
which is that there's angels,
then there's man, so being a man
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is a level lower than an angel.
00:18:26.33\00:18:28.76
So he compares though that
Christ becoming a man was like
00:18:28.79\00:18:34.63
a human being
becoming an insect.
00:18:34.66\00:18:38.62
Can you imagine, can
you imagine loving an insect
00:18:38.65\00:18:43.18
so much that you would be
willing to humble yourself
00:18:43.21\00:18:46.83
and become a bug just so that
you could intercede for him?
00:18:46.86\00:18:53.84
Thank God, He doesn't ask us to.
00:18:53.87\00:18:56.21
He simply invites us to open
our doors to the world's lost
00:18:56.25\00:19:01.20
and suffering souls.
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To open our hearts, and to
boldly fill them with prayer,
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and to lift these people
up before His throne of grace.
00:19:07.67\00:19:11.62
The word intercede means
to plead for, or make petition
00:19:11.66\00:19:19.12
for another. The word perish
describes someone who has a loss
00:19:19.15\00:19:24.65
of well being, or is in a
state of ruin or destruction.
00:19:24.68\00:19:28.19
So I refer to
intercessory prayer as pleading
00:19:28.22\00:19:32.52
for the perishing.
00:19:32.55\00:19:34.12
From the Bible the Greek word
for intercession is enteuxis.
00:19:34.15\00:19:39.71
It is a technical term
for approaching a king to meet
00:19:39.75\00:19:44.00
and converse with him by
bringing a petition before him
00:19:44.04\00:19:48.26
to plead on someone's behalf.
00:19:48.29\00:19:50.31
As we are pressing more
closely into His presence,
00:19:50.34\00:19:54.24
this portion of
prayer represents acting as a
00:19:54.27\00:19:58.43
spokesperson for others in a
hearing with the King of kings.
00:19:58.46\00:20:03.17
Let's look at two scripture
passages that the apostle Paul
00:20:03.21\00:20:07.92
wrote to explain our duty to
pray, not only for the saints,
00:20:07.95\00:20:13.53
but also for all of mankind.
00:20:13.56\00:20:17.51
Let's look at
Ephesians 6:17, 18. Paul says:
00:20:17.54\00:20:26.67
So here's Paul saying, pray
for everyone, all the saints,
00:20:44.71\00:20:48.39
all your brothers
and sisters in Christ.
00:20:48.43\00:20:50.42
But then in 1 Timothy
2:1-4 Paul says to Timothy:
00:20:50.45\00:20:57.79
For whom? for all men, not just
for your brothers and sisters
00:21:06.18\00:21:10.31
in Christ, but intercede
on behalf of all men,...
00:21:10.35\00:21:13.57
In assurance of salvation,
and armed with the sword
00:21:28.80\00:21:34.29
of the Spirit, we are to
pray especially for our brothers
00:21:34.33\00:21:38.45
and sisters in Christ.
00:21:38.49\00:21:40.52
Still, Paul's exhortation
to Timothy applies to us.
00:21:40.55\00:21:44.62
We're not to limit our prayers
only to fellow Christians,
00:21:44.66\00:21:48.80
but we should pray for
all, even men of authority.
00:21:48.84\00:21:53.26
And if you stop for just
one second and think about this,
00:21:53.29\00:21:57.63
Nero, the heathen enemy
who persecuted Christians,
00:21:57.66\00:22:02.39
who killed so many, he was
in office at the time that Paul
00:22:02.42\00:22:07.37
wrote this
instruction in 1 Timothy.
00:22:07.41\00:22:09.60
That makes it
even more stunning.
00:22:09.64\00:22:11.76
Paul was saying,
pray for Nero, your enemy.
00:22:11.79\00:22:14.71
Obviously, we don't have to
agree with a persons political
00:22:14.75\00:22:19.03
undertakings, or even
approve of his moral standards,
00:22:19.06\00:22:22.38
to pray for him.
Why pray for all?
00:22:22.41\00:22:25.53
The Bible says
there's only one reason.
00:22:25.56\00:22:28.31
The God of all mankind,
and one mediator, Christ Jesus,
00:22:28.34\00:22:32.48
who died for all, and
that our God, our Savior,
00:22:32.51\00:22:37.06
desires all men to be
saved, and come to the
00:22:37.09\00:22:41.63
knowledge of the truth.
00:22:41.67\00:22:42.87
Paul had the same
heart for the lost.
00:22:42.90\00:22:46.08
He held
intercessors in high esteem.
00:22:46.11\00:22:50.12
Referring to one disciple named
Epaphras, who interceded on
00:22:50.16\00:22:57.30
behalf of others, he
called him our dear servant,
00:22:57.33\00:23:01.58
our dear fellow servant,
and he's called him a faithful
00:23:01.61\00:23:06.12
minister of Christ.
00:23:06.15\00:23:07.93
And here in Colossians
4:12, 13, this is what
00:23:07.97\00:23:14.65
he wrote about
Epaphras. He said:
00:23:15.67\00:23:19.31
Epaphras labored in
prayer with the same
00:23:44.87\00:23:49.84
intensity as Elijah did.
00:23:49.87\00:23:52.26
And the results of
such prayer are powerful,
00:23:52.29\00:23:56.54
as James 5:16, 17 promises.
00:23:56.58\00:24:01.08
Here James writes:
00:24:01.11\00:24:09.04
And, by the way,
don't worry thinking,
00:24:09.07\00:24:11.15
Well, I'm not righteous.
00:24:11.18\00:24:12.21
If you're in Christ, that
righteousness has been credited
00:24:12.24\00:24:15.79
to you. It's
righteousness by faith.
00:24:15.83\00:24:19.54
And then James goes on to say:
00:24:19.58\00:24:21.77
Elijah prayed earnestly.
00:24:34.14\00:24:40.42
If you look at the literal
translation of that it says,
00:24:40.46\00:24:45.11
He prayed with prayer,
or in praying he prayed.
00:24:45.15\00:24:51.00
Epaphras was always laboring
fervently, meaning to strive
00:24:51.04\00:24:58.38
as in the agony of a contest.
00:24:58.41\00:25:01.31
In other words, there was
nothing casual about their
00:25:01.34\00:25:06.13
coming before the Lord.
00:25:06.17\00:25:07.25
These men who prayed with
the great energy supplied by the
00:25:07.28\00:25:13.18
Holy Spirit, are
examples for us in intercession.
00:25:13.21\00:25:18.38
Theirs were not cold,
lifeless, faithless prayers.
00:25:18.41\00:25:24.71
It was not their eloquence,
or fervor in which they trusted,
00:25:24.74\00:25:30.20
it was God. The prayers of the
righteous have great efficacy.
00:25:30.24\00:25:35.69
They are
powerful and productive.
00:25:35.73\00:25:39.56
Psalm 33:22 indicates that God's
mercy, and His loving kindness
00:25:39.59\00:25:47.86
are poured out in proportion
to our waiting, and our hoping
00:25:47.89\00:25:54.79
in Him. Prayer is the key given
by God to man, to open and shut
00:25:54.82\00:26:01.72
the blessings of heaven.
00:26:01.75\00:26:04.05
We are to do what is within
our power to help mankind,
00:26:04.08\00:26:09.83
and to become a praying people;
people who present others'
00:26:09.86\00:26:15.84
needs before God's throne.
00:26:15.88\00:26:18.20
Christ's entire earthly
ministry was spent interceding
00:26:18.23\00:26:23.10
for others, either
by action, or by prayer.
00:26:23.14\00:26:26.50
And He calls us to
walk in His footsteps.
00:26:26.53\00:26:30.48
So remember, this
is just the first part.
00:26:30.52\00:26:34.39
I'm going to review real
quick our role as intercessors.
00:26:34.43\00:26:38.19
It is part of God's plan to
bring blessings from heaven.
00:26:38.22\00:26:42.09
Now next program we are going
to see how this really happens,
00:26:42.13\00:26:48.73
and remember that we were
created to be co-intercessors
00:26:48.77\00:26:52.87
with Christ. Intercessory
prayer we will be considering
00:26:52.90\00:26:57.29
why it is the
highest calling to ministry.
00:26:57.33\00:27:00.92
And remember that we are
conformed to the image of Christ
00:27:00.96\00:27:04.21
through intercessory prayer.
00:27:04.24\00:27:06.63
It is our duty as Christians.
00:27:06.67\00:27:09.02
And we'll also look in a later
program how neglecting the call
00:27:09.05\00:27:14.71
to intercession could be
the chief reason that God's work
00:27:14.74\00:27:19.72
on earth isn't finished.
00:27:19.75\00:27:21.14
And then, finally, the reason we
want to consider this as well,
00:27:21.17\00:27:29.73
is that
intercessors are doubly blessed.
00:27:29.76\00:27:34.32
So we hope... We're so glad
that you've joined us today.
00:27:34.35\00:27:37.90
That you for sharing this time.
00:27:37.93\00:27:39.58
We hope this program is
meaningful to you, and that God
00:27:39.61\00:27:44.53
is showing you a
way to pray deeper.
00:27:44.56\00:27:48.09
But we also hope that you will
join us next time as we consider
00:27:48.12\00:27:52.26
how prayer can
bring God's blessings down
00:27:52.29\00:27:56.08
to earth for others.
00:27:56.11\00:27:57.73
And our continuous prayer
for you is that the grace of our
00:27:57.77\00:28:02.08
Lord and Savior, Jesus
Christ, the love of the Father,
00:28:02.11\00:28:05.34
and the fellowship of the Holy
Spirit will be with you always.
00:28:05.38\00:28:09.92