House of Hope Online

September 10, 2023

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Back in January 2000, the Lord gave me a word entitled “The 3 Rs of Intercessory Prayer – A Remnant Focused on Righteousness Gets Results.”  I gave that word as a sermon at First Assembly of God Church in Indiana, PA.  I want to share it with you today because I believe we are in a season when we must become a remnant focused on God’s Righteous will in the earth.

Last week we saw that Jesus is our new and permanent Priest and Intercessor from the keynote scripture in Hebrews 7:

Hebrews 7:

 23 And the [former] priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers, because they were prevented by death from continuing,

 24 but He, on the other hand, because He abides forever, holds His priesthood permanently.

 25 Hence, also, He is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

 26 For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens;

 27 who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins, and then for the [sins] of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.

 28 For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the Law, [appoints] a Son, made perfect forever. (NASB)

Hebrew 8:

 1 ¶ Now the main point in what has been said [is this]: we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens,

 2 a minister in the sanctuary, and in the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man.

Jesus is holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens.  He is able to save us forever because He always lives to make intercession for us (verse 25).

And so, I believe the Lord would have us focus on intercession a little more this week.  If Jesus is living to make intercession, so should we.

Intercession Defined

The Greek word for “intercession” in Hebrews 7:25 means “to entreat.”  The definition of “entreat” is “to plead urgently in order to persuade.”  In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word for “intercede” means “to go between and entreat.”  In other words, an intercessor goes between God and the situation on earth and prays for the will of God to be done on earth as it is in Heaven.  Often, the prayer entreats God to display His mercy on others.

Last week we saw in Genesis 18 that Abraham interceded on behalf of his nephew, Lot, because God’s plan was to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah.  Abraham’s focus was on Lot and the other people of God in that area.  He prayed that God would have mercy on His elect.

Today, intercessory prayer is key to all ministry because the devil seeks to destroy anything that we attempt to do for the Lord.  It is important to have a group of people dedicated to interceding for the Lord’s will to be done in church services or other activities conducted in the name of the Lord.

A Remnant Chosen by God

In the 3 Rs of Intercessory Prayer, the Lord impressed upon me that often it is a small group, or a remnant, that He will choose for intercessory prayer.  A remnant is a small piece of the whole; it is what’s remaining.

Romans 11:

 1 ¶ I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? May it never be! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.

 2 God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says in [the passage about] Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel?

 3 “Lord, THEY HAVE KILLED THY PROPHETS, THEY HAVE TORN DOWN THINE ALTARS, AND I ALONE AM LEFT, AND THEY ARE SEEKING MY LIFE.”

 4 But what is the divine response to him? “I HAVE KEPT for Myself SEVEN THOUSAND MEN WHO HAVE NOT BOWED THE KNEE TO BAAL.”

 5 In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to [God’s] gracious choice.

The significance of a remnant chosen by God to intercede is to be understood with the context of the Second Coming of the Lord.

2^nd Thessalonians 2:

 1 ¶ Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together to Him,

 2 that you may not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.

 3 ¶ Let no one in any way deceive you, for [it will not come] unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,

 4 who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.

            Note in verses 3 and 4 above, Paul teaches that the second coming of the Lord will not occur until after the apostasy comes and the man of lawlessness (the antichrist) is revealed.  The apostasy is defined as a great falling away from the faith.  Note an apostate is one who formerly claimed to be a believer, and subsequently decides to no longer believe in Jesus as the only way to salvation.  With mainstream thought now painting Christians as judgers and haters, and many churches rationalizing and compromising the word of God, it is not far-fetched to propose that apostasy may be imminent.  And, if the apostasy is imminent, then only a remnant will remain to intercede for the will of God immediately prior to the Rapture.  Therefore, we will indeed need to be a remnant focused on righteousness (Jesus) to get God’s intended result.

A Righteousness Not Our Own

It is important to understand that focusing on righteousness  is more than trying to do the right thing in thought and actions and intentions.  Paul, in his letter to the Philippians, talks about a righteousness not our own.

Philippians 3:

 7 But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.

 8 More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ,

 9 ¶ and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from [the] Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which [comes] from God on the basis of faith,

 10 that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death;

 11 in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

 12 Not that I have already obtained [it], or have already become perfect, but I press on in order that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.

Paul’s prayer is that we may be found in Jesus, who is the righteousness which comes from God.  Therefore, focusing on righteousness means focusing on Jesus and the will of God in the earth.  This means putting aside our own desires and yielding our hearts to whatever the Lord wants.  This is how the Spirit and the bride say “Come, Lord Jesus! Come quickly!”  We are to put aside our plans for this life in favor of interceding for God’s plan in our world.

Getting God’s Intended Results

Finally, the third R in the three Rs of Intercessory Prayer stands for Results.  But again, the results we are looking for are not our desires but God’s intended results.  Last week we saw in Genesis 18 that Abraham interceded on behalf of Lot within the context of God’s intended result of destroying evil in the earth.  Abraham had to remain focused on God’s will for the region as he prayed for his nephew, Lot.

Today, I want to look at Exodus 32 and the prayer of Moses, who also was a well-practiced intercessor in his day.  God was angry with the obstinance of His people and was intending to destroy them and start over.

Exodus 32:

 9 And the LORD said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, they are an obstinate people.

 10 “Now then let Me alone, that My anger may burn against them, and that I may destroy them; and I will make of you a great nation.”

 11 Then Moses entreated the LORD his God, and said, “O LORD, why doth Thine anger burn against Thy people whom Thou hast brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?

 12 “Why should the Egyptians speak, saying, ‘With evil [intent] He brought them out to kill them in the mountains and to destroy them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Thy burning anger and change Thy mind about [doing] harm to Thy people.

 13 “Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Thy servants to whom Thou didst swear by Thyself, and didst say to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heavens, and all this land of which I have spoken I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit [it] forever.’”

 14 So the LORD changed His mind about the harm which He said He would do to His people.

 15 ¶ Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, tablets which were written on both sides; they were written on one [side] and the other.

 16 And the tablets were God’s work, and the writing was God’s writing engraved on the tablets.

There are several important aspects of true intercessory prayer that are evident in this short passage of scripture.

• Moses was a “go between” God and His sinful people.
• Moses interceded on behalf of the people even though he, Moses, had nothing to gain.  God promised He would still make Moses a great nation with a new and faithful people, so there was nothing in it for Moses to save these people.
• Moses reminded God of His love for His people and His promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Israel) that He would multiply their descendants.
• But importantly, Moses also pointed out that it would be in God’s interest to relent because destroying the people would signal to unbelievers (Egyptians) that He was an angry, unfaithful God.

It was Moses’ focus on God’s will that made this effective intercession.  God’s will is for all men to be saved, even the unbelievers (referred to as Egyptians in verse 12) in the world.

Likewise, when we intercede, we must put aside selfish interest and focus on the will of God.  If we do, we will truly become the Remnant focused on Righteousness getting Results.

Let us pray.

Father God, thank You for Jesus, who lives to intercede on our behalf.  We beseech You, Lord, to make us like Him, make us effective intercessors who seek Your will for the fallen creation, especially in these end days.  Quicken us by Your Holy Spirit because we know not what to pray or even how to pray, but the Spirit is able to intercede for us with groans too deep for words.  Let us be Your chosen Remnant focused on Righteousness getting Your Results.  In Jesus’ name, we ask.  Amen.